Heaven's Rose
by Author of the Laurel Trees
Summary: A few weeks after the events of Peridot and Jasper's invasion, danger still remains a major concern for the Crystal Gems.
1. Chapter 1: Heaven's Stone

Why was this so difficult?

Steven, a young boy at the age of 12, was pacing the inside of his house with his arms folded. Huffing, he began to mumble incoherently to himself. He was frustrated.

Watching him were three women of varying heights and sizes, each with a worried expression on their face. The Crystal Gems had decided to, once again, attempt to teach Steven to fuse with them. After the whole ordeal with Peridot and Jasper, the Crystal Gems started to crack down on teaching Steven how to better utilize his powers.

"I've pretty much got the dance down… so why is it so hard…?" the star boy murmured.

The tallest and darkest of the three women spoke with a calm tone; "fusing isn't just about the dance, Steven. We've already gone through this."

"Garnet's right. It's about synchronizing with your partner and forming one conscience." The thinnest of the three explained. They had said the same thing several times now and it was beginning to annoy Steven. After all, they had been at it for almost two hours and he hadn't even managed to get a small glow from the gem on his belly.

"Fusing with Connie that one time was just… natural. I wasn't thinking about all this synchronising mumbo jumbo! It just sort of… happened." he said. He began to pull on his curly hair before stopping to turn to the Gems. "Ok, maybe this time I can do it! Pearl?" he gestured to the slender woman who gave a warm smile.

"That's the spirit, Steven!" she said happily taking his hand. Considering the size difference, Pearl had to be the one to lead the dance, not that he minded. Once they were both ready, they began their movements. It wasn't perfect but it was still a pretty sight. Pearl twirled her partner a few times before finishing off by bending him backwards over her arm.

For a few moments nothing happened. Holding their position, they simply waited. Then, Steven's gem began to faintly glow… before fading again.

Another failure.

Picking himself up, Steven suddenly beamed with glee. "Did you see that! My gem glowed! It glowed, Pearl!" He yelled with excitement. All three of the Crystal Gems couldn't help but smile too. "Garnet, Amethyst, it glowed!"

"Hell yeah! Now you're gettin' somewhere, Stevie!" the plump, purple girl chuckled.

"I think we may almost have it… but let's not over do ourselves. I think we should take a break." Pearl said with a smile still on her face. She placed a hand on his head gently "if you keep pushing yourself, we might end up losing all this progress."

Slightly disheartened, Steven's shoulders sagged a little. He agreed however. He trusted Pearl's judgement. Besides, he had to admit he was getting a little tired with all this dancing. He noticed the other two had gone off to do their own thing but Pearl still remained stood with Steven. She looked towards the door on the far side of the room. The door to each of the Gem's personal rooms.

"Hey, Steven, do you mind helping me with something?"

Oh, she was going to invite him into her room again. She seemed to do that a lot recently. It only seemed like yesterday when he was forbidden from going into any of the Gem's rooms. Now Pearl seemed to constantly want him to accompany her. Ever since the mini invasion a few weeks ago the white Gem had gotten very clingy.

"Sure! Do you need help sorting and cleaning your sword collection again?" Steven asked, eliciting a small chuckle from the white Gem. Steven had almost lost count of how many times she used that particular excuse. "I don't mind. I'm happy I can actually help you with something!" that last statement earned him a sigh.

"Steven, you help us in more ways than you realise. Don't think like that!"

Pearl's room was immaculate as usual. Large basins floated high over a lake of clear water. Each basin constantly overflowed with the water giving the room a very sarean feel. The indoor lake was surrounded by a marble ring which led off to different parts of the inner temple. Steven couldn't help but compare the room to one of those bathhouses he saw on TV.

Atop the centre basin, the two Gems sat themselves down opposite each other before Pearl summoned her extensive collection of sharp, stabby things. Steven always found himself in awe when he saw all the different swords lined up neatly.

Pearl didn't move further however. She simply let them float. "I assume you guessed that I didn't really bring you here to help me clean my swords for the millionth time this week?" she said tucking her knees close to her chest.

"Well… I had a hunch, I guess. Is there something wrong?"

"Not in particularly. I'm just a little worried." Pearl was acting strange. She acted so prim and proper most of the time, so seeing her like this was a little odd for the star child. "Peridot just up and disappeared and Jasper could reappear at any given moment… I'm worried something's going to happen to you, Steven."

"You shouldn't worry about me! Sure, everything that happened was scary and stuff, but we got through it together! If anything does happen, we'll be ready!" Steven bore a smile like usual and Pearl couldn't help but smile too.

"You're a good man, Steven. You always know what to say. I bet you think I'm pathetic for worrying so much!"

Since when did Pearl put herself down like that?

Steven frantically shook his head as he stood up. His eyes wide open. "I'd never think you're pathetic! You're super awesome and amazing!" He did his best to reassure her and she began to giggle at his frantic excitement. "We almost fused today! That's because I care about you!" in his frantic movements he didn't realise how close he was getting to the edge of the basin. This, as a result, ended up with Steven falling into the lake below.

"Steven! Are you ok!?" Pearl quickly scrambled to the edge of the basin and peered down to see a bashfully chuckling Steven bobbing up and down in the water below. As he tread water however, he noticed something floating underneath the centre basin. Swimming through the falling veil water, he realised it was a floating bubble. Similar to those the Gems used to contain the different monsters they faced on missions.

Reaching for it, he just about managed to get a grip on it. Inside the little translucent bubble was a smooth blue gem with swirls of teal. What was this doing here? Was it another monster?

"What have you found?" Pearl's voice startled Steven. She was swimming right behind him with a curious look on her face. When Steven showed her, however, her expression turned sorrowful. "Oh…" The white Gem stared at the bubble for a few seconds before giving a half smile. "That's a very old friend. It's best you leave it alone…"

The mention of the word "friend" piqued Steven's interest. "If it's a friend… why is it locked up? Or is this another Lapis situation?" his mind trailed back to when he released the water Gem from her mirror prison. Pearl shook her head.

"It's nothing like that. Just… don't mess around with it too much."

The white Gem took the bubble from him and swam to the edge of the lake. Steven's shoulders sagged again. He didn't really understand it but he didn't want to badger her about it. She was worried about everything as it was, Steven didn't want to add to that worry by releasing… whatever was inside that gem.

Getting out of the water, Pearl stared down at it and sighed. It looked like she was remembering bad things. Getting out to join her, Steven put a hand on her forearm. "Is everything ok?" he asked. That snapped her out of her thoughts and she smiled at him.

"I'm fine, Steven. Don't worry about me. I just forgot I had this in my room…"

"Who, or what, is it?" Steven couldn't help but ask. His curiosity got the better of him. Pearl's face turned sheepish as he asked.

"It used to have the name of _The Stone from the Heavens…_" she trailed off before straining her features. "I'm sorry but… it's a bit of a touchy subject, I'd rather not talk about it right now." She spoke with a distant tone. Obviously her mind was elsewhere. Steven thought it best to leave her to her thoughts. He felt bad dragging up bad memories so he simply began to leave, but before he was able to, Pearl suddenly spoke up. "Wait, don't leave. I mean… wait for me!"

What was going on with her? The star child couldn't make heads or tails of it. Even still, he stood and waited for her as she put the bubble back where Steven had found it and then quickly joined him once more. Outside the temple, back in the house, Garnet was sat reading on the couch and Amethyst was sat up on one of the house's support beams messing around with her whip. It was starting to get dark outside and Steven could feel the day's exercise catching up with him. His shoulder had started to ache a while ago but now that there was nothing else to focus on, the aching grew stronger.

Nothing a good night's sleep couldn't fix, though.

"I think I'm gonna grab an early night guys!" Steven began to ascend the stairs to his open plan bedroom rubbing one of his shoulders and yawning. All three of the Gems sent their sweet dreams to him and soon, the star child slumped into his bed fully clothed. He was a lot more tired than he first thought. It earned a motherly chuckle from the white Gem as she heard him begin to snore.

A few hours passed and night had fully set in. By now, it was just Garnet and Pearl in the lounge area. Amethyst had trodden off to her own room and Garnet was just finishing up her book. Snapping it shut, she looked down at Pearl. "Are you staying here all night again?" she said before standing up. The white Gem didn't answer. Garnet shrugged and walked to the inner temple door, disappearing through it. Now Pearl was alone save for the large, pink, sleeping Lion on the other side of the room.

Steven's soft, heavy breath could be heard from up in his little sleeping area and Pearl leant her head back over the back of the couch to listen to him. He sounded so peaceful. It was almost like there wasn't a permanent threat of Homeworld Gems storming the temple and taking Steven away forever.

Slapping her cheeks she tried to focus on something else. So, she sat there trying to think of ways to make fusion easier for Steven. When Stevonnie walked through the door that one time, she was so shocked she could barely process it. It wasn't like she disapproved, but she simply thought fusing with a human was impossible. And to think the fusion was so seamless too. No extra appendages or even eyes. Even Garnet bore a third eye.

Her mind then traveled back to the blue stone Steven had found. Why did it have to resurface now? When everything was so messed up? The white Gem's foot began to bounce as she began to get irritated. Getting up she quickly and quietly ascended the stairs to Steven's sleeping area and walked around his bed to lean against the wall. For some reason, Steven's sleeping form calmed her down when she got worked up like this.

A motherly smile crept it's way across her mouth. She was so proud of how far he had come. He wasn't a master, not by any means, but he was learning. Slowly, Steven was gaining more and more understanding about his powers and his heritage. Pearl admired his positive attitude, she wanted to be more like him, she wanted to be positive too, but recently, all she could think about was potentially losing her star child.

A single tear raced down her cheek as the bad thoughts came swimming back. It was getting worse. Simply having him in her sight wasn't enough anymore. Carefully, she crept into the bed next to him, lying down and putting an arm over him. She couldn't carry on like this… what was she doing?

Steven stirred a little but remained asleep. Pearl knew she was being way too paranoid but she couldn't help it. She almost lost him once, she didn't want to go through that again. Gripping a hold of him as tight as she dared, she could feel him turn into her. Unconsciously snuggling into her chest. It made her feel warm hand at peace. As long as she could feel him close to her, she knew he was safe.

For the first time in a while she actually felt relaxed. She felt calm. She almost admitted she felt safe. In the distance, she could hear Lion snoring and Pearl couldn't help but smile. Everything was so peaceful tonight. Was this just a calm before the storm? Or perhaps maybe… just maybe, their troubles were over?

Gems didn't need to sleep but they had the capacity to. Even though Pearl was determined to stay awake, she slowly, but surely felt her eyes become heavier and heavier until she finally gave in and drifted off to sleep.

"P-Pearl? What're doing?" Steven's voice slowly roused the sleeping Gem. It took a few minutes for Pearl to come to her senses but when she did, her face turned bright blue. Drool had dried on the corner of her mouth and her usually perfect hair was disheveled and greasy. Steven was sat up looking down at her with a worried smile on his face. "I thought Gems didn't need sleep."

It was morning. Birds were singing and the ocean waves set a feeling of calmness. Or at least they would for any normal person.

"Um… nothing! Nothing at all! I... " Pearl struggled for something to say. "Uh… we don't! But that… doesn't mean we don't like it!" her voice was becoming high pitched like it did when she was flustered. Steven could only let out his trademarked laugh.

"Y'know, if you wanted to sleep next to me, you could have just asked!" he said with a beaming smile. Pearl stopped flustering and a smile replaced her panicked expression. She was still embarrassed she was caught but she was happy Steven didn't mind.

Now that she was awake, she felt gross. She wasn't used to sleeping and as a result, she was unused to the whole grogginess that came with waking up. Along with generally being unclean from her sleep she couldn't help but wonder how humans coped with this daily. Luckily for Pearl, her room was literally a giant bath.

The white Gem was sure nothing would happen if she left Steven with the others for just a little while. Sitting up so that she was on the same level as the boy she began to fumble with her fingers. "I've been watching these shows on TV about parental behaviour…I guess I just wanted to try it…"

Steven knew she was lying but he chose not to bring it up. Maybe he would ask Garnet about what was up with Pearl the next time he saw her. Which, as it turned out, was sooner than he thought. Garnet had suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs and was staring at Pearl with her arms folded.

"You look like you need a wash." She said flatly. It almost seemed like she was telling Pearl off. It was amusing to see Garnet act like a big sister like this. The white Gem simply got up off of the bed and began to make her way to the inner temple door. She was tense and almost looked like a wind-up robot as she walked. When she eventually left, Garnet gave a small laugh before turning to leave herself.

"Wait, Garnet, can I ask you something?" Garnet stopped in her tracks and then nodded for him to go on. She obviously knew what he was going to ask and was already preparing her answer. "What's wrong with Pearl? She seems to… anxious and clingy. She said that she was worried about Peridot and Jasper but there has to be more to it right?"

"It's exactly how she says, she's worried about you. We all are." Garnet's way of speaking had always been to the point and she never gave half answers, but this time, something seemed off. It felt like she was keeping something from him much like they all tried to do when Lapis sent that video message to the Wailing Stone.

"Also, I found something in Pearls room. She called it _The Stone from the Heavens. _Do you know what it is? She said something about it being an old friend…"

For a while Garnet remained silent and Steven noticed that the corner of her mouth actually twitched. "No, I don't. Sorry." She finally answered. Something definitely was wrong here. The two things, Pearl's clinginess and the gem, didn't seem related but they were two things that no one gave definite answers for. Just what was going on here?

Maybe Amethyst would give him a bit more to go on. She was probably playing around in her junk pile of a room. With that in mind, he quickly changed out of his dirty clothes and dashed off to find her. Sure enough, Steven found her relaxing on a pile of old mattresses. This room was like a landfill site! Piles of junk lay everywhere, some of them reaching the size of small skyscrapers.

"Oh, Hey Steve-o! What's up?" The purple Gem suddenly piped up. She jumped off of the mattress and ran to greet him with a high-five.

"I was wondering if you knew what was going on with Pearl?"

"Pah! When _isn't _something going on with that one? Why, is she finally losing it?"

Steven gave a forced laugh at her answer. Truth be told, that probably wasn't a half bad guess. "Well, I don't know. I found her sleeping next to me, in my bed this morning. I know she used to watch me sleep sometimes but… I don't know, it's just not like her" When Steven explained further Amethyst, without warning, planted both her hands on his shoulders.

"That is weird! Pearl hates doing human stuff like that! Which is stupid because sleeping is ama~a~zing!" Amethyst was completely missing the point as usual, or at least that's what it started off like until she continued. "Steven, she's just worried. We all are."

Again with the whole "she's just worried" excuse, and she said it in the exact same way Garnet had not ten minutes ago. It was obviously going to be pointless asking about that blue gem too. The half-gem couldn't help but feel a little left in the dark. Most of the time it was just a simple case of them trying to protect him but this time it felt as if they just flat out didn't want to bother.

Steven internally kicked himself, he was sure that wasn't the case. No matter. Maybe he would give Connie a call and unwind with her...

As this was happening, Pearl was sat down in her large lake near the edge. Her initial goal was to simply get washed, dressed and head back into the house so that she could resume keeping an eye on Steven but now all she could do was sit naked in the water and stare at the bubble Steven had found the day before which was now bobbing up and down in the water just in front of the white Gem.

"If only we could let you out… but I doubt anyone would like that… including you." she murmured as if she was talking to it. She poked at the bubble and watched as it bobbed on the water surface. "How long has it been since I last saw you? A thousand years? A thousand five hundred? I can't even remember." Pearl never spoke to herself like this, she knew this wasn't like her.

Then a thought came across her mind. "Maybe I can just… unseal you, just for a little while. No one would have to know…" as soon as she said it she clapped a hand over her face. "What am I saying!? That's a terrible idea! I always tell Steven not to mess around with things like this and here I am doing exactly that!" but then the bubble bumped against her as if it were nudging her.

She stared down at it once again. "Perhaps it would be ok? I could just let you out for a few minutes and then reseal you… you wouldn't mind that, would you?" Pearl sunk lower into the water so that her mouth and long nose were submerged. A few seconds passed as she simply sat there and thought about it. Then she abruptly sat up raising her arms in the air. "It's only for a few minutes! That's nothing!" Pearl reasoned with herself before she stood up, picked the bubble up and then rested a hand on it.

Without warning, the bubble suddenly popped and the gem fell into Pearl's hand. Stroking it once with her free hand, she placed it on the marble floor. The stone began to glow softly with warm, blue light and before long, it slowly grew brighter. After a few moments, it suddenly exploded with the same dazzling light and temporarily rendered Pearl blind. When she regained her sight, there it was. A woman with pale blue skin not unlike Lapis with light blue hair which was opposite to Lapis's dark blue hair.

She wore long white gloves and an elegant, sleeveless long coat fastened over her torso by a corset. There was a star shaped hole on the back of the coat and on the small of her back there was the stone, embedded into her skin. On her feet there were no boots or shoes, she only wore navy blue knee high socks with little white stars printed on them. And then there were her tight fitting, black shorts. The outfit as a whole was a mixture of elegance and practicality.

"Azurite…" Pearl spoke in an awestruck tone. The blue girls eyes were closed and she hadn't fully come to her senses just yet so Pearl had time to take in her presence. Then her eyes shot wide open, she looked panicked and began to frantically look around before her eyes met with Pearl's. The blue Gem stopped dead and stared for a few seconds before finally speaking.

"Why…?" she began before her expression grew more and more panicked. "Why did you unseal me!? You of all people should have understood! Where is Mistress Quartz?" not even giving Pearl time to explain the situation, the Gem now identified as Azurite scrambled to her feet and began to back away from the naked Gem in the lake. "I… I have to go and find her… I have to be resealed this instant!"

And with that, she dashed off. Pearl stood there for a few seconds with a strained face as she processed what had just happened.

Then it clicked…

"WHAT THE SLAG PILE HAVE I DONE!?"


	2. Chapter 2: Heaven's Welcome

**A/N: Just a word before the chapter begins, this story is going to get a little... heavy... in both mental health issues and violence. So, if anyone is affected by the events described in Heaven's Rose, don't be afraid to drop me a private message. The last thing I want to do is cause unease no matter how minor. If you enjoy my story, please give it a review and tell me what you think and also please don't hesitate to bring up something that could use improvement. As for now, enjoy.**

Steven wasn't going to get any more out of anyone. That was for certain. So, he slumped himself on the couch. It seemed, recently, that there wasn't much to do in the ways of missions so it was probably going to be another boring day. Taking his phone from his pocket he quickly dialed Connie's number and hoped for an answer. What he got instead was her mother, Dr. Maheswaran… he never did get her actual name. "Is Connie around?" he quickly asked.

"No, she isn't. Unlike you, Mr. Universe, she attends school and won't be back home until after her Tennis practice." Dr. Maheswaran never did like the fact Steven didn't attend school and as a result, didn't necessarily like him full stop. Connie's dad wasn't much different, however he did at least show a bit more understanding towards Steven's situation.

"Ah, sorry to bother you!" He replied before hanging up. He forgot School was a daily thing. Sighing he began to fidget around, grabbing the attention of Garnet who was quietly reading further along the couch.

"Clothes possesed by gem shards again?" she asked. Shaking his head he simply stated he was bored. "I ungrounded you from TV, remember?"

Just then, the inner sanctum door opened and out came running a peculiar sight. It wasn't Pearl… it was a pale blue skinned woman. She had a panicked expression and looked around as if she was dreadfully lost. That was when Steven felt a gust of wind and saw a black blur speed past him. It was Garnet, charging with gauntlets at the ready.

"What the…" Steven jumped up and before he knew it, Garnet threw a powerful punch knocking the blue girl to the ground. She yelped in pain and Steven could see Garnet's mouth twisting into a raging frown.

"What are you doing here, you coward!?" Garnet snarled. Running in between the two women Steven raised his arms. He didn't know what was going on but he didn't like the look on Garnet's face. Even if it was half covered by her glasses. The blue skinned girl behind him began to shake and Steven could hear her crying. "Steven, please would you move so I can beat this cowardly pile of slag to a pulp?"

"No one is beating anyone up! Garnet, what's gotten into you!?" Steven didn't budge. He was confused as to what the hell was going on but that wasn't important. He couldn't stand by whilst a defenseless, panicking girl had the tar beaten out of her. No matter who she was, that was wrong. It wasn't in his nature to allow such uncalled for violence.

Amethyst came rushing in through the inner temple door and when she saw what was happening she froze. "What the hell's happening in here? Garnet, who is that?"

"No one you need to concern yourself with. Steven, I'm going to count to three." Even through her reflective glasses, Steven knew she was staring right through him. He was an obstacle to her at the minute and that thought frightened him to no end, what did this girl do to get Garnet to act like this? Even still, Steven didn't move an inch. Partly because he wanted to protect whoever this girl was and partly because he was simply frozen in fear.

Garnet was always so calm and collected, in other words, completely opposite to how she was acting right now. Seconds felt like hours as the two stood off against each other. The blue girl had all but gone silent and Steven could only hear her heavy breathing. Sweat beads began to form on his forehead and a lump was forming at the back of his throat. This was a bad idea, he really didn't want to get into a fight with one of the people he considered to be his closest friends. That said, Steven was adamant on not moving, not until Garnet had calmed down.

He was absolutely certain Garnet wouldn't harm a hair on his body but that still didn't stop the primal fear pumping through his veins. Even Lion had all but gotten the hell out of dodge and he was never affected by anything!

That was when the inner temple door opened for the third time and out came sprinting Pearl… dressed only in a towel wrapped around her pure white body. "Wait! Don't hurt… huh?" She trailed off as she saw the spectacle unfolding. Unlike Amethyst, who was only watching the event with interest, Pearl darted to join Steven in blockading Garnet from getting to the mystery girl.

"This was your doing!? What on Earth were you thinking, Pearl? You of all people should've known not to unseal her!" Garnet's snarl was getting worse and Steven felt himself beginning to trembled under the pressure of Garnet's anger. He could even see sparks of electricity jolt around her gauntlets. She never used her elemental ability unless it was necessary, did that mean she saw the two of them as a threat now?

"I know… but I wanted to see her. Steven found her Gem yesterday and I couldn't help myself, please... just don't hurt her!" Pearl tried to explain. Whatever she was doing, it was working. Garnet's gauntlets disappeared just as she clapped one of her hands over her face. Shaking her head, she began to let her position relax. Although this was the case, the tension had definitely not disappointed from the situation.

"Pearl… you…" Garnet trailed off. Silence once again resumed only to be broken by the occasional sniffle of the silently sobbing girl behind them. So she was _The Stone from the Heavens?_ Steven never expected that it was another Gem! Then again, most of the things locked away in the temple used to be Gems. "Fine… maybe now she can actually face it instead of running away like a coward."

And with that, the red Gem stormed off and into the inner temple door. Pearl relaxed once Garnet left but Steven remained frozen in the "T" pose. His face was also frozen. It was if he was a deer caught in the headlights. Steven didn't know what Garnet meant by _it_ but whatever _it _was, can't have been good if it got everyone worked up this much.

The white Gem kneeled down in front of the cowering girl and began to attempt to calm her down. "Azurite, it's ok. She's gone, stop panicking, please…?" her reassurance wasn't working however. The girl frantically shook her head, scared witless.

"That isn't why I am panicking… where is Mistress Quartz? Who is that boy? And why did you release me from my seal?" The blue Gem frantically listed off the questions one after another with an odd mixture of purpose and panic. Pearl stood her up slowly and walked her to the couch.

"Let me start off by saying how sorry I am, Azurite. I'm sorry for unsealing you but I couldn't help myself. As for Rose, well… I'm sorry but she's no longer with us." Pearl began to explain. Azurite's eyes grew even wider to the extent it didn't look biologically possible.

"She was killed? Was she assassinated!?"

"N-no, she wasn't killed. She gave up her physical form so she could have Steven, that boy over there…" Pearl looked over at Steven who was still frozen solid. "He's a Half-Gem. Rose passed down half of her powers to him but in doing so she had to give up her physical form…" Amethyst was having fun by using the boy in question as a hoop tossing post. Pearl shot her a glare making her stop instantly. Turning back to the shivering girl she continued her explanation "That was roughly twelve and a half years ago. You've been sealed for… quite a lot longer than that."

"H-how much longer?"

"Over five thousand years…" this revelation actually calmed her down somewhat. Unexpectedly, she slowly stopped shaking and instead pushed against her forehead with her index finger as if she was thinking.

"Then, perhaps being unsealed isn't such a dreadful thing…" she began to say but then her shaking started once more. "What am I saying… I can't handle this! What am I going to do? Pearl… help me!" tears began to race down her cheeks and Pearl pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her hair.

"Do you still hear them?" Pearl asked allowing the girl to sob into the towel. She nodded slowly.

"I still hear the screaming… it's unbearable… I need to be sealed away this instant!" By now Pearl's towel was more wet with tears than it was with water but she couldn't leave to finish off her bath just yet. Not while Azurite was like this. She felt horrible for doing this to her, she had no idea she'd react like… this. That said, a small part of her agreed with Garnet, perhaps now she _can_ face the past.

Steven had finally begun to move again but his walk was still very tense.

"But you just got out! Why would you want… to... " Steven began to speak but then trailed off when he saw Pearl's face. It was a look as if to say _you're making it worse. _His expression grew sympathetic and as such, took the hint. No doubt Pearl would explain everything later.

"I'm sorry, I got so wrapped up in my own feelings, I completely disregarded the entire reason you begged to be sealed in the first place…" Pearl gripped tighter as she spoke. "I'm sorry about Garnet too… I hope she didn't hurt you." Azurite sat up straight, wiping her tears away the best she could.

"It was nothing I didn't deserve…"

Pearl sighed at that. She didn't want to admit it but part of her agreed that she did deserve it. She'd never say that out loud though. She didn't even want to admit it to herself.

"You shouldn't be sorry, Pearl… this is just… a lot to take in. I suppose I better get used to it. You've paid for your mistakes… I think it's finally time I paid for my own." Azurite gave a weak smile and began to look around the house properly for the first time. The temple had changed so much within the last twelve years, let alone the last five thousand years. Her eyes then fixated on Steven who gave a worried smile and a wave. "You're Mistress Quartz's son? I didn't know Gems could bare children…"

"Um… well I don't really know much… apparently I'm not old enough to know how it happened…" Steven scratched his head and out of the corner of Azurite's eye, she saw Pearl blush slightly. Human Gem relations? When was that a thing?

"And you won't be old enough for a good while!" Pearl said in a very motherly fashion. Azurite was beginning to understand the situation now. She cracked a genuine smile and even gave a small giggle which then turned into an all out laugh. This surprised the white Gem, she looked at her with a confused expression. "What's so funny?"

"I think I understand now. You are his adoptive mother!" She said. Azurite's personality had done a complete one eighty. It was like every single worry she had simply vanished. Was this a good thing? Her sudden exclamation rendered Pearl's light blush to completely consume her face. Even though she pretty much hit the nail on the head, Pearl still didn't really see herself as Steven's mother, she could never fill in for Rose.

Hearing someone else say that made her feel queasy. "I-I just look after him... " she said after a few seconds fumbling for something to say. Steven couldn't help but let his unique laugh out before patting himself on his belly.

"Yep! I'm my own mom!" He happily said. "But Pearl is my second mom! She's super amazing!"

"S-Steven!" Pearl stuttered and abruptly stood up forgetting about her current clothing situation. The towel began to slip and probably would have fallen if it hadn't been for Azurite quickly grabbing a hold of it. "Eh… thank you…" she quickly said. Azurite couldn't help but let another small giggle out.

"You should be glad there's child around." She said in a strange tone and giving a wink to the white Gem. Steven grew confused with this interaction. His confusion only doubled when Pearl's already dark blush turned even darker. The boy didn't get what the blue Gem was alluding to and to be honest, he didn't think he wanted to know. "I think, maybe you should get dressed… I'll be fine. Perhaps Steven can help me get caught up?" She suggested looking towards the Half-Gem. He nodded happily and quickly scurried to sit down on the couch.

"R-right… I'll be half an hour at most… are you sure you'll be ok?" she said beginning to walk . Azurite simply gave her a reassuring look. Sighing, Pearl continued on and disappeared into the inner temple door. Steven was almost vibrating in excitement, he wanted to talk about all the different adventures he had gone on.

"Where do I begin! Well, my first big mission was taking a little statue up the Sea Spire, I packed loads of useless items which actually turned out to be crucial in climbing the spire… sadly I forgot to pack the stupid statue and we ended destroying the Sea Spire. A Red Eye came to attack us but then I saved the day by firing my Mom's light canon… hmmm… there was that one time when I almost turned myself into a hideous cat monster…" Steven trailed off when he saw the azure Gem's face.

She looked so sad again. Was it something he said?

"I'm sorry, Steven, this whole thing is still a lot to take in… has Pearl ever spoken to you about me?"

"No, she's never mentioned you until I found your gem yesterday and even then she only called you _The Stone from the Heavens_"

"I'm not surprised. I haven't heard that name in a long time... you're probably very confused as to who I am, correct?" Steven nodded to that and Azurite let out a small chuckle. "What do you know about your mother?"

"She sounded really awesome and gentle! She saw beauty in everything, no matter how gross or dirty something was! I know she'd do anything for her friends and that she loved my dad!" Steven answered. "Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl say she lead some kind of rebellion against her Homeworld and drove away all the bad Gems! She was a hero!"

The second part of Steven's answer elicited a sigh from the azure Gem. She tucked her feet up onto the couch and her knees close to her chest in a similar fashion to Pearl yesterday. "That's a very naive way of thinking about it. No matter how you look at it, we instigated a war. People died, Steven. Both Gems and Humans alike. Mistress Quartz may have lead us to victory… but it was a victory with a heavy cost. I couldn't handle it, I've killed people… to many, their voices… they still scream in my head. I was never meant to be a fighter… I was a performer… a singer!"

"Then why'd you join the fighting in the first place? Are you stupid or something?" Amethyst suddenly butted in. She had taken an interest in the subject and had wandered over to learn a bit more. Azurite grunted at her before continuing.

"I wanted to follow Pearl no matter where she went and she, in turn, wanted to follow Mistress Quartz no matter where _she_ went. At first, I thought I could handle the fighting… but as the war dragged on and the number of Gems I killed increased… the worse my mental health became. If it weren't for Pearl I would have lost it all together…" the blue Gem's eyes began to water again. Amethyst wasn't any help, she was staring at her with a judgemental look.

"So you bottled it and got yourself sealed away leaving Pearl, Rose and Garnet to suffer by themselves… like a coward. You got away scott free and avoided any sort of repentance!" Amethyst was actually angry. She never got angry. She got annoyed, but never angry. Why was everyone so angry with her? Steven just couldn't get his head around it.

"Don't talk like that Amethyst, she was scared!" He interjected. He didn't want any more conflict between the Gems. Seeing Garnet like that was enough to last him a lifetime. He still couldn't shake the sight of the absolute hatred she had branded over her face. Thankfully, Pearl seemed to be a little more sympathetic to the situation.

"She's right, Steven. I ran away from the responsibility of my actions during the war. I couldn't handle facing the consequences." Azurite tucked her knees closer to her chest and Steven spied tears streaming down her cheeks once more. She was saying all this so calmly but her body language gave away the fact just talking about it was tearing her apart. "Pearl feels just as betrayed as Garnet does. She won't admit it, but I can feel it. Having the ability to sense people's emotions isn't as fun as you'd imagine."

Amethyst had all but lost interest. She huffed and walked off outside no doubt to score some donuts from Lars and Sadie at the Big Donut. Steven felt bad that Azurite hadn't received a warmer welcome, after all, she had been locked up for thousands of years to be woken up to a punch in the face. That was when an Idea popped into his head.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet and throwing his fists in the air. This sudden outburst startled the sniffling girl causing her to jump slightly.

"What is it?"

"I'm going to give you the welcome you should have gotten! You've been cramped up in your Gem for five thousand years! That means you've never tasted the world's greatest culinary masterpiece…" Steven paused as if to give dramatic effect. Azurite even leaned in closer in anticipation. A grin came over his features before he finished with a single word. "Pizza!"

"Pi… zza?" the Gem repeated in a confused tone. Of course she wouldn't have heard of it, even Steven knew pizza wasn't around five thousand years ago, dark times indeed. "Were you even listening? I don't deserve a welcome!" she began to protest but Steven wasn't having any of it. His mind was set.

"Nonsense! Everyone deserves a decent welcome!" grabbing a hold of her silk clad arm, Steven pulled her up onto her feet and quickly out of the door. Although Azurite wasn't protesting any more, she was still very taken aback. Beach City must have looked so strange to her. Then again, Gems were always leaping ahead of humans in terms of technology and the like. After all, Pearl had once managed to build a functioning spaceship out of old bits of airplanes… until it blew up. If that whole experience taught Steven anything, it was that Gems knew their tech so maybe the modern look of Beach City wasn't so foreign to her after all.

Eventually, after a few minutes of running, they reached Fish Stew Pizza! The Only pizzeria in town and in extension, the best. Bursting through the doors Steven yelled his greetings to Kiki and Jenny who, in turn, welcomed him. Then Jenny noticed Steven's company. "Ste~e~ven, you sly dog! What if your little Connie friend found out about this!" she said giving him a wry smile. The Half-Gem had no clue what she was talking about however and simply brushed off the remark.

"This is Azurite, she's been sealed away for five thousand years and that means she's never had Pizza! Can you believe that!?" Steven looked genuinely upset by this factoid and Jenny's wry smile was replaced with a confused one.

"It is a sad day indeed for the Pizza gods…" she eventually managed to speak earning a stifled giggle from her sister. "Five thousand years, huh… talk about getting your beauty sleep, damn!" Azurite didn't know what to say. These humans didn't seem to be phased by the fact she had blue skin nor did they even question for a second the whole five thousand years thing. Humans seemed to be a heck of a lot more accepting than they used to be.

"Gem's don't require sleep, I was sealed under more… pressing matters." Azurite commented. Jenny then fell silent as if she were a kid being yelled at. A few seconds passed in silence before Kiki cleared her throat.

"Take a seat and Jenny'll be with you in a few minutes!" She said happily eliciting a short groan from Jenny and then prompting Steven to almost drag Azurite to a table on the far side of the restaurant. Picking up a menu, the half-gem pretty much forced it onto her before picking up his own.

The azure Gem stared down at the menu with absolute confusion. "Veggie… Pepperoni… chicken ranch… meat feast… fish stew special… what does all this mean? What do these strange symbols next to some of the choices mean? What do the numbers mean? What do I do?" it became apparent that Azurite liked to list all the questions she wanted to ask right at the very start of the conversation. Very direct and to the point almost to the extent of breaking Steven's head as he absorbed the barrage of questions.

"Well, these tell you what kind of pizza it is," he began to explain by pointing to the individual items on the menu. "The symbols mean stuff like spicy pizzas or allergy warnings and the numbers are just the prices, don't worry about that. All you have to do is say which pizza you want when Jenny comes over. Simple right?" when Steven brought her here he didn't think he would have to explain the entire process. It wasn't like he minded too much though, he felt like a teacher passing on important wisdom to his student.

Azurite nodded in understanding and looked back down at the menu with a little more focus. She still looked lost however. "All these options sound so foreign to me. What do you usually eat here?" Steven gave a short chuckle.

"Well, there's no point in getting two of the same kind so let's split a large Pizza! Jenny, we're ready!" Steven beckoned and long came the waitress in question. She held a notepad and pencil with a look of boredom on her face. "One large pepperoni pizza please, with extra pepperoni!" he ordered. Her bored expression turned wry once again, Steven still didn't get it.

"So this _is_ a date, well done little man!" she said noting down his order. That's when it finally clicked in Steven's head. He let out a high pitched whining sound a small dusting of a rosy blush formed on his cheeks. Shaking his head he frantically tried to deny it. This wasn't a date! This was just Steven's way of welcoming Azurite from five thousand years of being sealed away! Jenny couldn't hold it in any longer and subsequently threw her head back with all out laughter. "Right, right! Sure this isn't a date! Can I get you two lovebirds some drinks?"

"It's not a date!" Steven denied once more before sinking back into his chair. "Grape Soda… please…" as this was happening, Azurite couldn't help but giggle at the two of them interacting. She couldn't help but notice there was no prejudice about her or anything, the two girls were acting as if everything was natural and the azure Gem couldn't even sense any ill feelings towards her either.

It was nice…

When asked what she would like, her brain froze and the only thing she could think of saying was ordering the same thing. She didn't even know what Grape Soda was… no matter. Jenny had left and the two Gems were alone once more.

"So, you said you were a singer? Did you sing on your Homeworld?" Steven suddenly asked to break the silence. She nodded with a smile on her face.

"Yes. I was given the name _The Stone from the Heavens_ because of my singing voice. Entertainment was rare when I lived on the Homeworld so I wanted to make a difference through song. For a while I was actually making an impact… I was helping to give Gems something to look forward to. That is until Yellow Diamond banded my music… I don't understand why they did it but nonetheless, I was powerless to stop it."

As she was explaining, Jenny brought over their drinks and seemed to be interested in the subject. She pulled a chair over from another table and plonked herself down. "This Yellow Diamond thing sounds like a real piece of work…" she commented.

"Indeed. Pearl had been assigned to be my personal bodyguard for quite some time and over that time, we had both gotten pretty close. She taught me how to summon my weapon and to use it effectively so that if I were alone and something was to happen, I could handle myself. After I was muted, I had nowhere to turn except to Pearl. She took me to Mistress Quartz and she took me in with love and acceptance. What happened after that… well… I'd rather not say."

Steven could have guessed that she meant the war. Jenny on the other hand was confused but thankfully decided not to push for an explanation

"What was Pearl like back then, has she changed at all?" Steven couldn't help asking. He couldn't imagine Pearl being anything other than being overprotective. Azurite's response took a short time to come and in that time, Steven took the opportunity to indulge his thirst.

"She has always been overprotective, but back then it was originally out of a sense of duty rather than legitimate care. She began to care for me as time went on and eventually, we became…"

"You loved her!?" Steven interjected to her story startling the two girls. He had stars in his eyes and a face full of awe. "That's so cool!" the azure Gem gave a warm smile as she stared down into her glass of soda. To her, if felt like only yesterday when she was saying her goodbye to Pearl… but that was not the case for the Gem in question. "Why don't you go and see if she still feels the same?"

"She doesn't. Or at least, not anymore. Her feelings for me have gone. I already sensed it. It's unsurprising really… a lot can change in five thousand years… whatever's left of her feelings are locked deep down in the bottom of her mind" Azurite's face grew distant as she concentrated on the bubbles of air floating on the surface of her soda. Kiki beckoned her sister and a few minutes passed in silence before Jenny returned with their large pizza. This whole welcome party suddenly grew very awkward.

That was when Pearl suddenly burst through the door with a very terror-stricken face. "Steven! Oh thank god… what are you doing!?" Steven was so startled he accidentally spill all of his soda over the freshly baked pizza.

"Noooooo!" Steven yelled as if he had just seen a loved one die. Jenny sighed, picked the pizza back up and made her way back to the kitchen mumbling to herself about pointless exertion of energy. The new arrival stomped up to their table and her nostrils began to flare.

"I've ran all over town looking for you! I thought something had happened! You disappeared without a single word!" Pearl's face was like a mother scolding her child but this was new, even for Pearl. She usually didn't think too much about Steven suddenly disappearing, so why had she gotten so worked up now?

"I just wanted to treat Azurite to pizza. No big deal, right?"

"No big deal!? Of course it's a big deal! Anything could have happened to you and I would have had no idea of knowing!" Pearl had become hysteric as she ranted at him. If Steven was being honest with himself, he was getting a little scared. His pizza partner seemed to be picking up on his discomfort as she attempted to get Pearl's attention… to no avail. "What if Jasper or Peridot came back? I would never have forgiven myself if something had happened!"

"Pearl… I'm fine. Really, you're scaring me." Steven had sunken into his seat as much as he could in an attempt to escape Pearl bearing down on him. Her face relaxed a little when he spoke. "What's been going on with you? Ever since Peridot and Jasper attacked you've been acting really strange! You barely let me out of your sight anymore and this morning you were sleeping in my bed… you hate sleeping!" Steven stood up and was now staring directly into Pearl's light blue eyes, a look of pure determination to finally get some answers on his face.

Pearl's own expression turned awkward and her eyes began to dart around the restaurant. "I… just… I'm…" she began to lose her own confidence and suddenly the roles had been reversed. Pearl wanted to do nothing but run away but she couldn't, that would mean leaving Steven alone. She was beginning to realize there was actually something wrong with her.

Azurite had suddenly gone very quiet but neither of the two other Gems realized. "Please don't say you're only worried. Even I can see there's more to it!" Steven was usually so positive all the time but now he was just irritated. Everyone had been hiding something from him and he'd had just about enough of being left in the dark. "What's wrong with you!?"

"I'm scared, ok? I'm scared I'm going to lose you and it'd be all my fault! I nearly lost you in the attack… I don't want to go through that again… I can't stand the thought that they can literally reappear at any given time! That's why we haven't gone on missions recently, we don't want to lose you!" Pearl's eyes began to water and slowly Steven's annoyance began to be replaced with sympathy. That was until he realised something.

"Our missions are to protect humanity! You can't just stop doing them because you're worried about me!" Steven had never been this angry before. Neglecting missions just so the Crystal Gems could keep an eye on him?

How idiotic could they have been?

Pearl could only hang her head in shame as she let her tears fall free. Behind them, both Kiki and Jenny were watching the argument with interest and only they had realized that Azurite had started to shake violently as if she was having a fit. Kiki ran into the restaurant and straight up to the shaking Gem. Not knowing what to do she opted to break the other two out of their argument and once they realized what was happening, Pearl sprung to action.

"Azurite? Can you hear me?"

No answer apart from her violent shaking.

"Azurite… are you ok?"

Still no answer.

Her shaking began to grow more and more violent to the point where she began to rock the table. Kiki ran to the phone and quickly dialed the emergency line to ask for an ambulance. She didn't even know if it would help but what else could she do? It looked like a customer was having a fit right on the restaurant floor, it was her responsibility to do something at least. Azurite's shaking seemed to reach its critical point and Steven could see her face grow more and more terrified with each passing second.

"Pearl, what's happening? Is she going to be ok!?" he asked. His anger had instantly dissipated and was replaced with fear once more.

"I… don't know… I think... I don't know!" Pearl responded. She didn't want to touch her incase that made it worse so instead she tried to reach her through talking. "Azurite, can you hear me?" Still nothing. Azurite's eyes were filled with fear, you didn't need to have her ability to tell that much. Slowly she began to move her hands over her ears and without warning began to breath very forcefully. Both Steven and Pearl had no idea what was happening nor what had started it.

Azurite's eyes squeezed shut and she began to grit her teeth. Whatever was happening, it was getting worse. For minutes everyone was unable to do anything until eventually the siren of the ambulance could be heard in the near distance. Thank god Beach City had its own dispatch point to make up for the fact the nearest hospital was in Connie's hometown which was quite a drive away.

When the paramedics burst into the restaurant they were most definitely not expecting a Gem to be their patient. After a brief pause to collect themselves they quickly strode to Azurite pushing aside both Pearl and Steven. They asked questions such as how long had she been like this and what might have started it but neither of them managed to be of any help. They had been so caught up in their own argument they had completely forgotten Azurite existed until Kiki pointed it out.

After a brief examination the paramedic leading the effort sighed in an odd sense of relief. "The good news is that it's only a panic attack. The bad news is that it's a very severe one. Although the hospital isn't exactly facilitated to accommodate Gems it might be a good idea to bring her in for a closer look, with your permission of course?" he said looking up to Pearl from his kneeling position. All she could do was nod.

Slowly and gently, the paramedic began to guide Azurite into a standing position. The worst of her attack seemed to be over but she still looked completely out of it. Steven couldn't help but think… had they caused this by talking about the invasion? He drastically hoped that was not the case.

Pearl and Steven could only watch as the paramedics walked the azure Gem out of the restaurant.

"I'm so sorry, Steven…" Pearl said before a tear streamed down her cheek.

"I'm sorry too…" Steven replied.

And then silence consumed them as they too began to walk out of the pizzeria. This whole welcome party idea turned into an absolute disaster...


	3. Chapter 3: Heaven's Warning

**A/N: It's been a short while since the last update and for that, I apologize. I've suffered a little writers block. Thankfully, I've enlisted the help of my friend who helps me with pacing, grammar and characterization. So, It'd be awesome if you could give me a review. Tell me what you do and don't like, any feedback is welcome! **

Pearl had ridden along with Azurite in the ambulance and Steven followed close behind with his dad and his van. Greg didn't really know what was going on but he was suddenly rushed out of his chair by a panicking Steven, he had no choice but to agree. After a quick and worried explanation, Greg still didn't really get it but he did understand that it was serious.

Inside the back of the ambulance, Pearl sat beside her friend with her hand in her own. Azurite had calmed down a little since the pizzeria and had become more responsive to people talking to her. She was limited to one word answers but it was still an improvement. Although most of the white Gem's attention was fixated on Azurite, part of her mind was still worried about Steven.

Again with the separation anxiety...

Eventually they had reached the hospital and now Steven, Pearl and Greg waited patiently in the waiting room as doctors ran their tests to determine what was wrong. Pearl couldn't even imagine what was wrong, Gems didn't get sick. She began pacing the waiting room causing everyone in the room a lot of discomfort. Steven felt the same as Pearl but he managed to keep a lid on his feelings. Greg on the other hand still had next to no idea about what happened nor who Azurite even was but explaining it in full wasn't exactly on either of the Gem's mind right now.

A nurse came out of the examination room Azurite was being kept in. She held a clipboard and beckoned the two over. "Doctor Morgan told me to ask you a few questions so we can try and get a better understanding of what happened. Is that ok?" agreeing, Steven and Pearl followed the nurse to a quieter area of the waiting room over in the corner. "Azurite said that you, Steven, took her to the pizzeria to give her a warmer welcome. Can you explain her initial welcome, before you talked to her?"

"Well, all I know is that she suddenly came bursting into my house from the temple and Garnet suddenly started to yell at her. I dived in the way and stopped them from fighting and that's when things calmed down. I wanted to give her a happier welcome so that she felt more comfortable!" Steven did his best to explain his side of things and the nurse seemed satisfied.

"She also made us aware of the argument you two had. Perhaps there was something in the argument that set her attack off?" Pearl went into deep thought. Steven however knew exactly what it could have been.

"We mentioned the attack that was on the news a few weeks back, did you see it?" the nurse nodded. It had been all over the news for days after the attack. It would have been a shock if she hadn't have heard about it. Pearl suddenly clapped a hand over her eyes as she shook her head.

"How could I have been so blind? Of course it was the attack! In her perspective, the Gem rebellion only happened a couple of months ago where in actual fact it was thousands of years ago. So, to hear about an attack that happened recently must have snapped something inside her…" Pearl looked disappointed with herself as she spoke. The nurse took notes and nodded.

"That's more than enough information. Thank you, you've been a great help… oh… and I hope you two work things out." She said before leaving the two of them. Pearl leaned back in her chair looking stressed causing Steven to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Pearl, I'm sorry for being difficult." He said. This mustered a small smile across Pearl's face. She looked down towards him and gave a maternal giggle.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Steven. It's me who is being difficult." she replied before tenderly placing a hand on his curly hair. From the other side of the room, Greg watched as the two of them reconciled. There was a lot in Steven's life he didn't know about and to be honest that was probably for the better. Most of the stuff he didn't know would probably just cause him to worry a lot more.

"It's not your fault. The attack scared me too!" Steven gave his best smile and stood up on his chair as though he were addressing a large crowd. "But if we all stick together, we can do anything! Because the Crystal Gems are the protectors of humanity and bonerfied badasses!" Steven clenched his fist and pressed it against his heart. Closing his eyes he gave a grin. It was obvious he was just trying to cheer his friend up. "And their fearless leader, Steven, will lead them to victory!"

Pearl couldn't help but chuckle at his display. She knew he was only trying to cheer her up and it was working. "If you're so fearless then why did you admit the attack scared you?" She played along with a sly grin. Steven paused for a second.

"Because a true fearless leader never hides his weakness from his subordinates!" pointing to the ceiling, Steven let out the laugh everyone knew. Pearl could only laugh with him.

"Well I'm impressed, oh mighty leader! May you lead us to victory in the future!" the two shared a laugh as Steven sat back down. "Thank you, Steven. I really needed that." she added earning a wink from the half-gem. Things had gotten so messed up recently and not just because of Azurite. It was comforting that Steven was still his usual happy self. A few minutes passed as a comfortable silence fell between the two of them. Now all they could do was wait to be addressed once again. Worry and anxiety took over the mood once again as minutes dragged into an hour.

Finally a doctor came from the examination room calling them over. He seemed ready to give the two his verdict. This must have been Doctor Morgan. "We can't say so for certain, considering she isn't human, but from a human standpoint, all of her symptoms indicate a severe case of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD for short. It's a mental disorder that occurs after someone undergoes a traumatic experience such as witnessing a murder or being attacked." he explained. "She seems fine now but we'd like to keep her in overnight just to make sure there aren't any delayed problems we don't know about yet. It's not unknown for panic attacks such as this to cause problems later down the line."

"Gem's don't get sick. This can't be right…" Pearl said almost to herself as she looked to the floor with her chin in her fingers. The doctor gave her a sympathetic look.

"PTSD is a mental disorder. Physically she's perfectly fine. If she were a human, I fear the severity of her panic attack could have caused some serious internal damage. I must say, Gems are medically amazing!" The sudden change in the doctor's tone caught Pearl off guard and she couldn't help but take offence to his remark.

"I think you should be more focused on treating her and not examining her like she's some kind of test subject!" She scowled eliciting a sheepish chuckle from the doctor.

"My apologies, Miss. I didn't mean to offend you. All she really needs, right now, is the support of her loved ones. You might want to, potentially, think about signing her up for a therapy programme once she is discharged." Calming down, Pearl thought for a second. Now that she actually took a minute to think, she was pretty much the only one Azurite trusted. Or at the very least, the only one who wouldn't give her a good clobbering, save for Steven.

"Therapy… programme?" Pearl almost seemed confused.

"Yes. It's a treatment. Of course… we don't know if it'd work, considering the fact that she's a Gem… but, it might be worth it." Pearl's gaze remained fixated on the floor as the doctor spoke. She wasn't really paying attention but from what she did hear she couldn't see the point in it. Gem's didn't need treatment…

"I'll… think about it…" was her only response.

"Pearl, you should stay and look after her. I'm sure the others are getting worried, so dad and I'll go back home." Steven suggested. Pearl looked a little reluctant to let him go but Steven gave her a stern look. "I'll be fine. Won't I dad?" Greg had joined them and planted a hand on Steven's shoulder. He gave Pearl a smile and a thumbs up.

"Don't worry about it, okay? We'll head straight home to Garnet and Amethyst. I promise!" he said. She still wasn't sure but she couldn't argue, she knew that if she did she'd only restart their whole argument. So, she reluctantly agreed following the doctor into the examination room and leaving Steven with his dad. "Alright, Shtoo-ball, I don't intend to annoy Pearl so let's get you home as quick as possible!" Greg ordered as soon as Pearl left their eyesight. Agreeing, Steven followed his dad looking back to the examination room door with worry on his face.

After just under an hour of driving, Greg finally pulled up next to the ramp to the beach. They had gotten home safely and that fact alone made Greg a little proud of himself. Hugging his father goodbye, Steven began his short journey to his house. Although everything seemed normal Steven couldn't shake a feeling that something wasn't quite right. Perhaps it was just because he hadn't had anything to eat all day.

As if on cue, his belly rumbled to demonstrate his point.

He hoped that was the case…

Inside the house Steven moved for the kitchen in hopes of fixing up something to eat, but when he reached the counter he noticed something that shouldn't have been there. Or more specifically…

Someone.

On the couch facing the kitchen sat an unfamiliar figure, for lack of a better term. Its face was concealed by a creepy looking, solid black helmet with four glowing blue lights that resembled something similar to eyes staring right at the half-gem. The rest of its outfit comprised of black, streamlined armor and a long trench coat of the same colour. The look as a whole managed to make Steven gulp. A shiver ran down his spine as his eyes locked with the figure's lights.

It looked male, or as far as Steven could see it didn't have any features indicating it was anything other than a male. It sat with its arms crossed and didn't speak whatsoever further adding to its mysterious presence.

"W-who are you?" Steven finally mustered. The man didn't answer for a short time which only served to make Steven begin to look around the room in an attempt to avoid the pressuring gaze of the mystery person.

"A traveler." The abrupt answer sent another wave of shivers down the half-gem's spine. Another thing had caught his attention. There was no sign of Amethyst or Garnet. That only made him feel even more nervous. At least it spoke english. The traveler's voice had a hint of technical distortion to it causing the half-gem to wonder what exactly this thing was.

"Are you a G-Gem?"

"You are correct. Hmmm… and if I am not mistaken you are also a Gem, or at least...partly..." The traveler spoke, not taking its eye lights off of him. " Interesting… interesting, and… fortunate."

Steven began to feel sweat beads forming over his forehead as the piercing gaze from the traveler bore through him. "Why is it… fortunate?" he asked. Not knowing what was going to happen next was the worst thing. He felt his heart begin to beat faster and faster with each passing second.

"What information that I have gave me the impression there were only four female designated Gems at this location. It seems my readings are... quite... substantially out of date." The black mystery man began to adjust his sitting position and for the first time, broke his gaze. "From what I have witnessed firsthand, it seems there have been numerous changes to Gem population in the Sol System."

"W-what's your name?" The traveler's speech pattern was confusing Steven and so he tried to bring the conversation down to a level he could actually keep up with. The figure gave out a laugh keeping the technical distortion effect giving an ominous sound.

"My apologies. My name is Onyx. And if _this _particular cluster of information is correct, then you are Steven Quartz Universe. Hmm… a Gem… with a human name..." Steven didn't respond and as a result the traveler stood up and leaned into a bow. "And it… appears that you are... very uncomfortable with my presence. My apologies, I do not mean you, nor the other Gems harm."

Steven's heart rate began to decrease and his anxiety began to die down along with it. "I'm half Gem. My Mom gave up her physical form so she could have me."

"Then I would be correct in assuming that your _mother_ was Rose Quartz?" his assumption earned him a nod. The gem now identified as Onyx cocked his head to the side. "This is the first I have heard of human relations with Gems. Interesting."

"Are you from the Homeworld?"

"I was made on a Gem Controlled planet in the Veil Cluster. I was a product of their operations, but I am no longer affiliated with them." Onyx sat back down on the couch and resumed looking around the house. "You could say that I am a fugitive. Or at the very least a rogue."

If Onyx wanted to kidnap him, he would have done it already and the fact that he was answering him at all was enough reason to trust him, at least for now. All this information was starting to get a little overwhelming and as such, the half-gem needed some time to process it fully. After all, he was only twelve, there was a limit to what his immature mind could take.

Silence fell between the two. Onyx began to walk around the house to inspect everything that wasn't nailed down. Not a single inch of skin could be seen on him, not even his gem which was odd. Steven didn't think they hid their gems. Then again, not many people hid behind a helmet to begin with. So the fact that his gem was hidden probably wasn't the most oddest thing about Onyx.

A few minutes passed in silence only to be broken by the armored man's heavy footsteps. Steven tried not to let Onyx's skulking about get to him to much and to take his mind off of it he began to make himself something to eat as was the original plan. So many questions swimmed around in the half-gem's mind. Questions about how he was a fugitive, what his purpose was for being here and most of all, how he knew so much about him and the others. All the questions were probably going to be answered but for now, Steven was just so confused about everything that had happened today. He needed some form of normality, looking at the clock he let out a small smile. Connie was probably home by now.

Quickly heading up to his sleeping area he pulled out his phone and quickly dialed Connie's number. The phone rang for a few seconds before it was picked up by, thankfully, Connie. "Steven, Mom said you called this morning. Did you forget about the whole school thing again?" she said with a teasing tone. Steven chuckled a little before answering.

"Yeah, sorry. Things've been… confusing today."

"Things are always confusing if Gems are involved, but to hear _you_ say that is a little worrying…" Connie's lighthearted tone seemed to disappear instantly as she spoke. "This isn't another '_we all might die'_ situation is it? You really worried me last time!"

"Don't worry, it's nothing like that!" Steven looked down into the kitchen, watching as Onyx inspected the half made sandwich on the counter. "Where to start… well… from the start I guess!" Focusing way too much attention on what Onyx was doing, Steven didn't realize he was beginning to ramble a little.

"That's a good a place as any!" Connie's voice brought him back to his senses.

"Yeah. Well, I woke up this morning to find Pearl actually sleeping with me in my bed!" Steven didn't hear anything for a few seconds. Connie obviously didn't understand how weird that was. "Pearl hates sleeping…"

"Oh…"

For some strange reason things suddenly grew awkward. Steven's life was so different to Connie's. She wasn't that used to the ways of the Gems so Steven forgot that small detail. What he thought was absurd was probably the opposite for Connie. Trying not to get thrown too much by this sudden lull in conversation, Steven threw himself into a long winded explanation of the day's events. All the while Connie remained silent other than the occasional quizzical murmurs.

When he finished Connie remained silent for a few seconds. "That is… a lot to take in…" she finally said. "Are these new Gems going to be… sticking around?" Steven couldn't help but notice a little fear creeping into her voice.

"I dunno. Maybe…" Connie's only reply to this was a worried sigh. "They're nice. I promise." Steven really didn't see why this was so worrying for her. Sure, Onyx scared the living daylights out of him when he first saw him but he really didn't seem like a bad guy. Or at the very least, he wasn't violent. Connie didn't say anything for another short while.

"Just… promise me you'll be careful, ok?" her voice was ripe with worry.

"Don't worry! I'm safe, I promise!" Steven exclaimed. "I'll… let you go… sorry to bother you." he said hanging up before Connie could answer. The thing he still couldn't grasp was why everyone was acting so strange. He understood that the attack was scary and everything, but it wasn't anything to get this worked up over…

Was it?

Steven sprawled out over his bed and stared at the ceiling in silence. He could hear Onyx walking around still. The more the traveler inspected the house, the more Steven understood he was probably just fascinated. Or at the very least, curious.

"I'm telling you, Garnet, I heard this _fwoosh-_ing and then a _bwaaaarmp _and then… nothing… eh?" Amethyst's voice suddenly came from the door and Steven sprang up to see the two Gems stood, frozen in place in the door frame. No doubt, they had instantly seen the armoured man and jumped to the wrong conclusion. They both sprung to action, each summoning their weapons. As they charged, Onyx didn't react at all. It was like he hadn't even noticed them charging at him.

"Guys, wait!" Steven jumped down, skipping the stairs all together and lunged in the way of an angry Garnet for the second time today. "He's not evil, I promise!" Steven could feel the sweat pouring from his face. He hoped this wasn't going to become a common occurrence...

The two gems stopped in their tracks giving him a quizzical look.

"Steven, who is this guy… he looks funny…" Amethyst seemed to be less angry and more curious. No doubt, she only acted on instinct. Garnet, on the other hand, was obviously angry. Onyx let out a small huff as he put a picture of Greg and Steven he was inspecting back on the refrigerator door.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Onyx and I am not exactly on... agreeable terms with the Homeworld. I assure you, I am trustworthy."

"I don't usually trust people who hide behind masks." Garnet bluntly said. Onyx slowly rose his arms up as if he were surrendering. Not breaking his stare from Garnet he let out a quiet 'understandable...'

"I would like to avoid removing my helmet…" he lowered his hands before continuing "Living a life such as my own makes one paranoid." Amethyst scratched her head and her expression grew perplexed. Garnet, however, remained stone cold. Her reflective glasses made damn sure of that. "Perhaps something... else would earn your trust? Information, for example?"

"What information could you give us that's even remotely useful?" Garnet almost growled.

Onyx held out his hand and and his palm began to glow a light blue. Or more specifically, the material on his palm began to glow a light blue. The three Earth Gems stared down at it as curiosity overcame each of them. Then, a holographic wireframe of what appeared to be a thick folder began to flicker to life before the insides began to glow brightly. The light began to pulsate with, what appeared to be, computer code and a few seconds later the glowing stopped and Onyx now held a solid object. It was, indeed, a folder.

Steven gasped in awe as he came in for a closer look. "Your weapon is a folder? Cool!" he said as he poked it. Garnet dispelled her gauntlets before letting out an exasperated sigh.

"No. This is the information that you might find… _remotely useful_…" Onyx replied, obviously annoyed with Garnet's earlier statement. "What you just saw was an advanced technological storage alternative. What you see now…" Onyx gestured to the folder, "...is a collection of mission briefs and reconnaissance reports from the twenty ship strong scouting fleet that is currently in the orbit of… Uranus, I believe it is named in your language."

A stunned silence followed this revelation. The armoured man opened the folder and began to read from it.

"To the Commander of the Sol Cluster Scouting Fleet and Captain of the Frigate Class GSV Morganite. You are to conduct reconnaissance on the previously Gem controlled planet N3246-19: Local designation _Earth_. Priority One is the observation of the _Half-Gem_ Lifeform "Steven Quartz Universe". Priority Two is the observation of the Gems "Garnet", "Pearl", and "Amethyst". Do not engage under any and all circumstances. Should it be suspected that the mission be discovered and/or compromised, retreat and await further orders. Signed: Yellow Diamond - 1st Shard of the Great Diamond Authority."

Steven let out an audible gulp. The other two had all but gone silent. He could even see Garnet's red skin turning pale.

"So… Peridot and Jasper weren't the end of it?" Amethyst was beginning to fidget as she averted her eyes from the situation. "An entire damn fleet is next!?"

"Calm down, it's just a scouting fleet… besides, we don't even know if he's telling the truth." Garnet tried to rationalize it, but even she was beginning to panic. Onyx tapped on the page, bringing their attention to the insignia stamped onto it. A triangle with three more inside. Steven had seen that insignia before. It was on the floor of the upside down pyramid they got trapped in that one time. Steven didn't know the significance but Garnet obviously did. "Slag…" she said under her breath.

"It seems that I arrived at the right time. Ever since these orders were given three Earth weeks ago, the Gem's military infrastructure has been up in arms. You have caused quite a disturbance, Steven Universe."

"They're just watching though… right? They're not exactly sending in the troops…" Steven was beginning to grasp the seriousness of the situation. This wasn't a joke and it certainly wasn't time to be joking either. Onyx's only reply was flipping through the pages before stopping on another page stamped with the same insignia. The emotion drained from Steven's face as he did so.

"After receiving the …"mildly concerning" report detailing the fates of both Commander Jasper and Engineer Peridot at the hands of the self proclaimed "Crystal Gems", the Diamond Authority has deemed it fit to dispatch an invasion force to neutralise this potential threat. The Sol Cluster scouting fleet are to hold position until these reinforcements arrive. Upon confirmation that both fleets have rendezvoused, we are to commence our movement upon Planet N3246-19. Signed: Yellow Diamond - 1st Shard of The Great Diamond Authority."

Silence came once more. The tension could probably have been cut with a knife. Finally Garnet broke the silence with her usual flat tone.

"When was the order given?"

"Local time? Two days ago."

"That means we have… just under a week… They're willing to start an entire war over… a single person?"

"Not quite. Their original goal was to restart Gem operations on this planet, but you threw a spanner in their works… metaphorically speaking. Their goals for this invasion have simply undergone an alteration in priority. Apprehension of the Half-Gem Steven Universe, and to restart mining facilities across the planet."

The three Crystal Gems grew silent once more. Amethyst's expression turned into a large frown. "So, they're just gonna waltz right onto this planet and just… suck it dry?" She clenched her fists and began to shake. She even started to bare her teeth.

"Is that not how you and I came to be, hm?" Onyx's statement caused Amethyst to fall into a stunned silence. "The fact of the matter is this; to the Diamond Authority, the inhabitants of a planet are irrelevant in their long term goals. In this case it is humanity." Onyx snapped the folder shut and placed it on the counter.

"All this… invasion stuff aside… what are you doing here? You don't have any affiliation with us." Garnet's flat tone was still as strong as ever but everyone could tell she was just as scared as Amethyst and Steven. Picking up on this, the armoured man gave a short bow.

"Simply put, personal gain. There is no one reason why I am here, there are many. All of which share one thing in common; my hatred for the Diamond Authority." his reply was just as mysterious as he was. Steven couldn't make heads or tails of anything that was being said. "That said, any spoils of war are both definitely welcome and definitely a bonus."

This wasn't going to be like the attack…

"This is… going to be a full scale war… isn't it?" Steven's eyes began to water as he looked up at Onyx.

"Unfortunately, that is indeed the case."

For a long time after that, the four of them stood in silence. Although Steven was still naive and wasn't mature enough to comprehend the full extent of the situation but even he knew the gravity of the situation. Then, without warning, Amethyst broke the silence with one statement that brought about a wave of groans.

"Dibs on not telling Pearl…"


	4. Chapter 4: Heaven's Unrest

**A/N: You may notice this chapter's formatting and style is a little different. This is because of a few things.**

**First and foremost, my beta reader has now become my co-op writer. His profile can be found at "Sir Taynvictory"**

**Second, I've undergone a sort of format crash course and as such, I'm trying to experiment with formats. Basically I'm looking to improve. So, if you want, let me know what you think in the reviews, your input is greatly appreciated!**

* * *

Only the sound of excessive tapping rung through the Command Deck of the GSV Morganite. The source of which seemed to be the only occupant. A deep green and red skinned feminine Gem. She let out a long, exasperated sigh, the only organic act she could think of to express her irritation.

Her tapping continued as another sigh escaped. "Fine job you've got here, Tourmaline…" she muttered to herself.

When she had received captaincy of the Morganite, she had felt excitement, she would even go as far as to say she was ecstatic. She finally had command of her own ship as well as command of the Gems that served on said ship. That said, she couldn't help but wonder, every now and then, about the fate of the previous captain.

Her mind then turned to when her superiors _handed over the keys_ so to speak.

"_Congratulations on your promotion… Captain."_

The tapping grew slower as the voices of her superiors rung through her head.

"_Just remember, Captain. Failure will __**not**_ _be tolerated."_

Now there was an encouraging sentiment to take onboard. The console creaked beneath her grip as she clamped down on both it _and_ her thoughts. It was perplexing, to both want to know yet at the same time _not_ want to know about the fate of her predecessor.

The fact that both desires were born out of fear just made it worse.

That thought alone drove her to all but beg every God and Goddess she could think of for her first assignment to go smoothly. Not that she revealed her pleas to anyone. The Diamond Authority tended to "_disapprove_" of anyone that spoke of any Deities that weren't themselves.

It seems that they had heard her plea, or at the very least, had decided to humour her for now, and so far, everything had gone as smooth as polish. Observations were made. Reports were delivered. Orders were given.

"Ughh..."

If only it wasn't so boring. Hiding behind a gas giant, observing a Class-4 planet in the galactic backwaters, so to speak? It wasn't even under Gem Control any more. If it wasn't for the fact that the First Shard had given her this directive _in person_, she would have inquired with a "_with all due respect_" directed at her superior officer. But it wasn't a superior officer, so she kept her mouth shut, her head down, and all but light-sped the Morganite and its fleet out of the system the moment she was dismissed.

Her eyes wandered, drawn to the screen in front of her. She knew the brief though, she knew her orders. She had gone over them dozens of times, if only to relieve said _boredom_. Half-Gem Steven Universe "_How does that work?"_ Crystal Gems, "_Weren't they eradicated_?". Names, details, relevant information of both those she was supposed to observe flickered past.

The next scout report was due soon, she reminded herself.

She exhaled once more, eyes flicking between the display and the void of space. On some level, she couldn't understand it. A squadron of twenty for a scouting mission? An _entire_ invasion fleet for one planet? Whole task forces for _four_ individuals? This Universe child may be the son of the _Traitor to the Diamond Authority_, but he was still a child, and how powerful could three Gems actually be?

Something didn't add up.

She kept quiet though. She had her orders: To observe. Nothing more, nothing less. The moment the invasion fleet were to arrive, she was to relinquish command and return to base. She had her orders, and the other Captains had theirs. Simple. She couldn't help but wondered though, it was gnawing at her mind. Why had the Diamond Authority authorise the use of the Verneuil? And why had they also authorised…

No. A shake of her head banished those thoughts. They weren't her responsibility, and when the invasion fleet finally arrived, she prayed that they never would be. She could even feel herself shudder at the thought. No, her responsibility was the safeguard of the Morganite, and the Gems under her command.

* * *

The silence was almost deafening. Azurite didn't even need to use her ability to know that Pearl was angry. The pale skinned Gem stood at the foot of the bed with her back facing her. Not a word had been said for the better part of an hour and to be honest with herself, she was afraid to speak up in case it sparked conflict, but at the same time she desperately wanted to say at least _something_.

Deciding on the former, the azure Gem remained silent.

"I don't understand it… it was like you didn't even consider the consequences…" Pearl suddenly muttered almost to herself. "Did you even think, for a second, about how _I _felt?"

"W-what do you mean?" Azurite croaked. The spearwoman suddenly turned around with rage in her eyes.

"You just _left!"_ she yelled without warning. "No goodbyes, no explanation, no _nothing! _You just _left!"_ Pearl's nostrils flared as she yelled. The metal frame that made up the bed's railings groaned beneath her grip. "You _coward! _Everyone cared about you and you just threw it back in our faces!" Azurite didn't know what to say at first. All she could do was stare at the enraged face of someone that used to love her.

"I… didn't… want to cause more unrest…" she struggled. This excuse only served to throw fuel on the metaphorical fire. The metal groaned louder as Pearl's grip grew tighter.

"What kind of excuse is _that_! You just made things worse!"

"And what would you have me do, Pearl? Would you have wanted me to stay and suffer the constant guilt?" She could feel her own expression contorting into one of anger. This was wrong, she never grew angry so quickly.

"Yes! What do you think we had to do? We had to suffer with the guilt for thousands of years! Garnet, Rose and I… we had to stick together, and where were you? Cowering away inside your gem!"

"I wasn't made to be a soldier, Pearl! For slag sake… I was a singer! The only battlefield I was meant to occupy was the stage! The only reason I agreed to fight was because of you! I was willing to follow you anywhere!"

Azurite got out of the bed and faced Pearl down. She made sure to not break eye contact as she did so.

"Do you think that I was made to be a soldier? No! I was Rose's maid until I took up the sword to protect her!" Pearl finally let go of the bed rails and took a step closer. "It does not excuse you!"

"Perhaps not, but I just couldn't live each day being trapped in a downward spiral of nothing but guilt, suffering and the residual hatred of those that I killed! I know what I did was wrong… but there was no other way… if you truly did care for me, you would understand!"

Silence fell over the two as they stared one another down. The tension growing with each passing second. Seconds began to drag into minutes. The azure gem could see the anger grow in Pearl's face. It was almost as if this stare down was an argument in of its own. Then, without a second's warning, Pearl's gem blazed to life. Raising a hand up to it she withdrew her elegant, pale blue spear.

Azurite's anger instantly dissipated as the spear was drawn back.

* * *

_Fire. Blood. Smoke._

_This wasn't the hospital. The dead and the dying littered the ground. Humans and Gem alike... and they were whisperingandshechouldn'tblockthemout..._

_"...H...help...M...me..."_

_She wished she could. She pleaded... begged even... to the gods that she could._

_"...What have...what have you done?..."_

_No...NO! She hadn't done… This wasn't her fault!_

_"...Save...yourself..."_

_She...she couldn't! Not after..._

_"...Come...come closer...please..."_

_She screwed her eyes shut. Desperate to block out the screams._

_"...Die..."_

_No!_

_"...Just die..."_

_NO!_

_"DIE FOR ME!"_

_Eyelids snapped open. There. A figure. Someone bathed in the blood and the shadows and the death andthe__**spear**__itheldwasdrawnback!_

* * *

The initial shock of Onyx's revelation had, at least somewhat, dissipated. All that remained now was silence. Garnet could be seen leaning on the balcony just outside and Amethyst had taken to laying on one of the rafters of the ceiling. Steven, himself, sat atop the kitchen counter, watching as Onyx, oddly enough, went through the process of making tea with a rather ornate looking tea set.

Steven didn't even know he had a tea set such as this...

The Starchild shifted uncomfortably. The silence felt like it was crushing him and all he wanted to do was break it. He sifted through his mind for something to say.

Anything would do.

"Could I ask you a question?"

This earned a short chuckle from the armoured man.

"Everyone is entitled to being able to ask questions. Getting answers, however, is an entirely different matter." As he replied he didn't once break away from what he was doing, not even for a second. It was almost as if he expected Steven's input.

Trying not to get thrown off by Onyx's rather off putting reply, he took a deep breath.

"How did you get those document thingies?"

This elicited another short chuckle and for a little while, Onyx didn't answer. The traveller continued his work, and as seconds passed Steven began to grow increasingly uneasy.

"Everyone has a price…" Onyx's sudden answer made the Starchild jump. Unfortunately his answer only served to confuse the poor child.

"Do you mean… like… money or something?"

"That is, indeed, one such price, yes…"

With each answer Onyx gave, Steven's confusion doubled. His childish mind couldn't make heads or tails of it. As he stewed in his own confusion, Onyx had finally finished his tea. Although the half-gem was still confused, he couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Was he going to see Onyx's face?

No. As it turned out. Onyx lifted up his cup and took a sip...

… _Through_ his helmet.

Steven blinked in confusion as Onyx took a couple more sips. He even went as far as letting a refreshed "ah…" escape.

Steven's brain ground to a halt as it attempted to process what he was seeing.

"How… are you… doing that?"

Then the four lights on his helmet changed, resembling upside down "U"s. What followed was a single noise of amusement.

"I am afraid that is a Trade Secret…"

Then, as if from out of the blue, Garnet burst in through the front door resulting in Steven almost falling off of the counter in shock.

"We need to move. Now." she spoke flatly and urgently. Amethyst dropped down from the rafters with a thud and her face was just as confused as Steven's.

"What's got your glasses in a twist?" She asked eliciting a cold stare from the fusion gem.

"I will explain on the way, but we need to move as fast as possible… and you're coming to, I don't trust you being alone here…" she gestured to Onyx who gave a shrug.

"Understandable…"

* * *

Steven heard the problem before he saw it.

Clashing of metal, scared screaming of citizens and the yells of two people in the midst of a heated battle.

Plumes of smoke towered from the general direction of the hospital and the darkening sky was adorned with the flickering light cast by fire. Whatever was happening was bad…

_Very _bad.

Garnet couldn't exit Greg's van fast enough. She might as well have booted the back doors clean off. Not even pausing to let Amethyst or Steven catch up with her, she threw herself into a sprint.

"What the heck is going on? And you still haven't even told me who the armoured guy is!" Greg was understandably upset. This was the second time today he was rushed off of his feet with little to no explanation as to what was happening.

"Dad, I'll explain everything later. I have to admit, though, I'm a little confused too…" Steven tried not to let his own worry show but he could feel himself begin to fidget.

Amethyst had already gone after Garnet which only left the three males in the van.

"I'll… be… right back…" Steven stuttered as he opened the passenger side door.

"Wait… Shtoo! don't leave me with... this… guy…" unfortunately it was too late. Steven had already set off in the direction of the smoke. An awkward silence arose as Greg glanced over at the Gem, arms folded and sat in the back of the van. "So… do you… um… like Little Butler?"

"No…" Onyx's flat answer earned a solemn sigh from Greg. That was when Onyx spied an old vinyl, the blurred photograph of a multicoloured man wearing a helmet and brandished sword that was the cover picture creating a spark of recognition.

All four red eyes positively _glowed._

"Rock music however, has always been of interest, Earthen Rock especially so..."

Greg seemed to perk up at this sudden revelation.

* * *

Heated yells and clashing of metal filled the air as both Pearl and Azurite exchanged blows. The pale Gem lunging her spear with the precision of a master and the azure songstress parrying, rapier firmly in hand.

After a particularly fearsome clash, the two backed away from each other. Pearl's eyes were fierce and full of anger, Azurite's barely even seemed focused, her jaw almost hanging open. It almost seemed as though she was in some kind of trance.

Around them, small fires raged and their light casted an ominous hue on the scene.

The Spearwoman's breath was heavy and visible wounds covered her body. Huffing once again, she charged forward, spear at the ready. The songstress also charging ready to strike, her expression void of emotion.

"That is _ENOUGH!"_

Garnet's voice resonated as the red Gem landed in between the two, gauntlets at the ready. Sparks of electricity arched from both of them. Pearl had the senses to stop, Azurite, however, looked as if she didn't even see the towering gem.

She continued her advance and Garnet had no choice but to tackle her head on. Easily disarming the rapier and pulling her arm into a lock, the brawler placed her free hand over the blue gem situated on the small of the fencer's back. She huffed and promptly sent a spark of electricity coursing through it.

After a second of jolting, Azurite began to glow and within a few seconds, she almost seemed to pop. Only her Gem remained.

"What the _sediment_ sake are you _doing_?"

Garnet whipped her head to face her fellow Crystal Gem and a grimace spread across her face. Her eyes may have been covered but Pearl knew they were twisted in anger.

"We are here to _protect_ humanity! Not terrorize them!"

Pearl's anger had all but disappeared to be replaced with a shameful look. Hanging her head with her arms behind her back, she almost resembled a child being scolded.

"I… lost my temper in an argument, I drew my spear to try and stop it but... I didn't know she would react so… _violently!"_ she replied. "I was so… angry I just couldn't stop myself… goodness, what have I done…"

By now, both Amethyst and Steven had joined the two of them.

"Holy Hell, P! You really did a number on this parking lot…"

A solid look shot from Garnet shut the purple shapeshifter up almost instantly.

"There's no point discussing this now, Pearl, we have some bad news and you are _not_ going to like it…" Garnet's voice was flat but the urgent undertones were as plain as day. Picking up on this, the pale gem's expression turned from shameful to worried. "I think it's best if we head home, I'd rather not cause more panic than we already have."

Without another word, and after picking Azurite's gem up from the floor, the group set off back to the van. An uncomfortable silence forming.

As they made their way to the van, enthusiastic voices began to become clearer and clearer. One voice undoubtedly belonging to Greg and the other most likely was Onyx's.

"I, personally, prefer the earlier genres. Each song had a meaning… a story. It seems recent artists seem satisfied with digitally synthesising their music singing an assortment of nonsensical lyrics, and then calling it a chart topper…" Onyx's usually flat tone was now perfectly clear, a trace of enthusiasm clear in his electronic speech, and Greg seemed to have all but gotten enthralled in his words.

Their conversation was cut short, however. The uncomfortable tension between the returning group was contagious. Greg's grin had all but disappeared and Onyx seemed to have reverted back to his flat posture and mysterious silence.

Pearl opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it shortly after. She no doubt wanted to ask who Onyx was by the look of confusion she gave him.

Piling into the van, the weight of negativity would probably have needed a crane to lift it. Even Steven couldn't manage a smile. His young mind may not have been able to fully comprehend the situation, but he was smart enough to know that there was next to no bright side in it…

But that didn't stop him from looking.

"Do you always just… leave collateral damage like this?" Onyx's tone had, once again, gone back to being almost void of emotion. Garnet shrugged at his question.

"It always gets fixed, somehow. It usually isn't a big deal."

This answer seemed to elicit an almost irritated grunt from the masked gem. Silence fell once more as Greg began to drive the van away from the scene. Steven began to fidget, looking down at the blue gem in Garnet's hand he couldn't help but speak up.

"So… what happened, Pearl?"

The gem in question's breath hitched as she looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes.

"We argued and I lost my temper. I couldn't stop myself and as a result I… drew my weapon on her…" This answer provoked a response from Onyx. His head whipping up to stare at her. The four red lights glowing intensely.

"You did _what?"_

Onyx had been told who Azurite was and what her situation was. From what little he had been told, he seemed to have shown pretty decent understanding.

"I drew my weapon and she just… turned so vicious but… her face was so… _passive."_

Onyx leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "And why do you think that is?"

"I… don't know…"

"PTSD. Stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is an anxiety disorder caused by experiencing extremely stressful, frightening, or distressing events. Said events can include _the witnessing of violent deaths_, and _military combat_. _**And you threatened her with a weapon**_."

Onyx raked his gaze across those that occupied the van's rear.

"Has she displayed anything such as crushing doubt? Guilt? Shame? A desire to avoid mention of anything from her past? Has she attempted to avoid you? Symptoms of Hyperarousal? _**Anything**_?"

"W-what's Hyperarousal?" Steven's question earned a small grunt from Onyx.

"It is a state of heightened psychological and physical tension. Effects include a decrease in pain tolerance, anxiety, exaggerated responses to stimuli, insomnia, fatigue and extreme exaggeration of personality traits."

"What has that gotta' do with what happened?" Amethyst asked in a genuinely curious tone

"It has _everything_ to do with what happened. That..._**episode**_…" Onyx nodded in the direction they came from, "...occured _because_ of Pearl. Her act of threatening her with the spear was what is known as a '_trigger_'. All that damage - _all that destruction_ \- was caused because in her _mind_, Azurite was reliving a scene that _haunts_ her."

The venom and anger in Onyx's tone was nearly a physical thing. The pale gem's head slowly hung itself in shame.

"I lost my temper…"

"_That is no excuse_."

"So how...how do we fix it?" Steven asked with worry causing his voice to crack.

Onyx glared.

"You cannot just _fix it_. It could take years to _fix_..." Onyx spat the word as if it was something foul, "...Antidepressants. Medication. Psychological treatment and a watchful eye."

His gaze turned to Garnet. "Her gem, if you would?" he said, holding his hand out. She hesitated for a few seconds before complying to his request. Putting it in a pocket on the inside of his coat, Onyx leaned back in his seat. His explanation seemed to be over.

"What are you going to do with her?" Steven interjected.

"The Medical Bay aboard my ship is equipped and stocked with the resources necessary for the care of silicone based lifeforms. I can, and am, going to give her the therapy she needs. It also seems that I am the only one present with both the training and experience to help her. In the mean time, you need to prepare. War _is _coming."

Pearl suddenly went rigid. "Excuse me?" she asked with horror thick in her voice.

"I told you, you wouldn't like it…" Garnet muttered.


	5. Chapter 5: Heaven's Calm

"I almost had you that time!"

Steven called out, his voice ripe with child-like innocence. Connie could only giggle with all the mischievous intent she could muster.

"What can I say? I'm a natural at this game!"

She mused. After several rounds of G.U.Y.S. Mega Racer 4, Steven had not won a single race. As a result, Connie had taken to wearing a permanently smug grin. This obviously irritated the half-gem. He playfully gave his friend a nudge.

"Don't get cocky! It's because you keep picking Ninja Guy! He's so unbalanced!" He retorted. Connie scoffed at his remark.

"And Jagged Guy isn't? What with that permanent contact stun thing he has?"

The smug grin had temporarily been replaced with a mock offended expression.

"Face it, you're a sore loser, Steven!"

She let escape another girlish giggle and the grin returned once again. The Half-Gem could only scoff in fake disgust. They then both devolved into a fit of giggles.

Meanwhile, the general mood downstairs was miserable at best. Downright depressing at worst.

Pearl sat, arms folded and eyes squeezed shut on the sofa. She was still in the metaphorical dog house and on top of that she was attempting to process the whole situation. Homeworld really was sending a fleet. Just so they could kill Steven and restart the Kindergarten?

That simply made no sense at all. There _had_ to be _something_ more to it.

The laughter from upstairs caused the pale gem quite a bit of stress, too. A war was coming and all Steven could do was play meaningless human games with his friend. It was like he wasn't even taking it seriously.

She let it slide for now, however. She was far too busy trying not to lose her head thinking about the imminent threat.

Unfortunately, a particularly loud round of laughter sent Pearl over the edge. Stomping her foot, she shot up and ascended the stairs all with an enraged glare etched into her eyes. Naturally, the two children looked on in both fear and confusion.

"Steven, why are you acting so… carelessly? Are you not taking this whole situation seriously?"

She almost spat her words. The poor Half-Gem didn't know what to say, only managing Um's and Uh's. This only managed to push Pearl further into the depths of rage.

"Does it even matter to you? Do you even care that war's coming?"

"What…?"

Connie's voice suddenly snapped the two gem's out of the stand-off. Her eyes opened wide and her mouth hung slightly ajar.

"What… do you mean?"

For a long while, no one spoke. The silence exerting its pressure by the tonne. The Bookworm slowly turned to face her friend,

"Steven… what are you not telling me?"

After a few more minutes, Steven gave in. His mind filling, once more, with stress, confusion and anxiety. All of which he was trying desperately to avoid.

"The Homeworld's launching an all out attack on Earth… I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want you to worry!"

A stunned silence consumed the scene once again. Connie was, as one would expect, quite upset with being kept out of the loop, but she did harbour understanding as to why she had been. That was the only thing that prevented her from flipping out.

"_Not_ telling me things like this is just going to cause me to worry all the more! Steven, don't you trust me?"

Her words clawed at Steven like a hungry bear. All he wanted to do now was run and hide. A desire that was becoming increasingly hard to resist.

"I…"

"Steven, you need to take this more seriously!"

"I…"

"Steven, you need to tell me these things…"

It was all getting way too much. The Starchild screwed his eyes closed, his breathing growing heavy and beads of sweat formed over his forehead. Then, without warning, he let escape a yell of stressed panic. Not even bothering to explain his outburst, he got up and bolted for the door, running from the house.

Leaving behind two very confused women in the process.

* * *

Meanwhile, Onyx had resigned to his ship. Sitting in the Pilot's chair, he tapped a finger on the metallic arm. A holographic screen floated in front of him displaying human articles and case studies on PTSD.

Research.

If he was going to treat Azurite, he wanted to at least brush up on his psychiatric skills. It had been a long time since he had acted as a therapist. In fact, come to think about it, it had been a long time since he had used his medical skills full stop.

His job usually entailed ending lives. Not saving them.

He couldn't think of that now. He had to focus on just how he was going to attempt to help his patient. As he fell deeper into his thoughts, he failed to notice a faintly glowing figure flicker into life behind him. A female humanoid figure wearing a lab coat.

_\\\ Our __**guest**_ _looks like she's about to wake up. /_

Her voiced managed to pull Onyx out of his thoughts, his attention turning to the new arrival. A hologram. Her _skin_ was translucent and if one were to look carefully, they would see vertical lines of binary code stream upwards through her body and into a central spot on her scalp.

"Thank you, Eya. Have you made the preparations for her regeneration?"

_\\\ Yes, obviously, I'm not exactly going to let a panicking Gem loose inside __**my**_ _ship, am I? /_

The Hologram spoke in a manner that made it sound like she owned the ship. A fact that managed to earn a barely audible grunt from the armoured gem. A grin spread across her translucent face and a hand placed itself on her hip.

"Fair enough. Perhaps it is best if I am present for her regeneration. There will no doubt be an abundance of questions she has for us."

_\\\ I feel sorry for the poor girl… /_

Eya's tone had a way of irritating Onyx. Her mannerisms were no help either. She knew he couldn't do anything about it too, which irritated him even more so. Her programming was far too advanced for him to even try and rewrite it.

Choosing to ignore her, he simply made way for the Medical Bay.

Inside was what you would expect of a sci-fi looking Medical Bay. A wall full of shelves containing different medicines and medical supplies, different weirdly shaped machines, beds and an examination table. The bed nearest to the far wall was where Azurite's gem had been placed and as Onyx walked closer, he could see the gem faintly glowing with a weak light.

Briefly detouring to a coat rack, he removed his black, battle worn duster and replaced it with a white, clinical looking lab coat. If he was going to dip into his medical skills, he wanted to at least look the part.

A few seconds passed as the deep blue gem made an attempt to glow brighter.

Eventually, it managed to spark with life and soon Azurite's body began to form around it. She looked weak and barely conscious, for a short time she remained unmoving, not even a rise and fall of her stomach. Then, a shaking hand reached up and grasped the railing lining the bed.

For a while, all the gem could do was roll her eyes around the room in an attempt to discern what was going on, an effort that apparently ended up as useless. After several attempts to speak she finally managed a single question.

"W-where am I?"

"You are in a Medical Bay aboard my Ship. You need not worry yourself, I am here to help you."

This response elicited a miniscule reaction, but a reaction nonetheless. For the briefest of moments, her eyes lazily opened wide before narrowing once more. Onyx could tell she was restless, even under the influence of the drugs coursing through her body.

"Why do I… feel so weak?"

"For your own safety, I had my AI administer a weak sedative on your gemstone. A sedative designed for silicon-based lifeforms such as ourselves."

Azurite remained silent for a short period. The hand gripping the metallic railing loosened up and shortly it slumped down onto the linen.

"Who a-are you?"

"You may refer to me as Onyx. As a patient, you should technically refer to me as Dr. Onyx, but that has very impersonal connotations behind it."

His words served one purpose: to keep her calm. There was nothing worse than a sedated patient panicking. She could cause some serious physical damage if she did. Onyx knew he wasn't exactly going to get much out of her now, that was the reason why he was only sticking to answering rather than asking.

"I d-don't… remember anything. What happened?"

"You had a panic induced violent spell caused by your subconscious mind believing you were in mortal danger. I will not lie to you, it was bad."

Another brief eye widening and narrowing.

"Is P-Pearl ok?"

"She is. You need not worry. She wants you to know that she is most apologetic of her actions."

Onyx may have relayed Pearl's apology, but he, himself, was far from forgiving her. Unfortunately, as Azurite's self-appointed doctor he needed to remain as a neutral third party. The sedated gem's lips curled up into a lazy smile, her eyes gaining a little more focus. As she, once again, rolled her eyes around the room, they suddenly stopped and stared at Onyx.

"W-why are you wearing glasses?"

"They help improve my vision."

"No, I mean… why are you wearing them over your helmet?"

"Well, they do not fit underneath it."

Dumbfounded silence fell over the two, even if it was only a one-sided dumbfounded silence. Onyx simply just stood and waited for another question, his red lights resembling upside down _U's._

* * *

Steven lay sprawled out on the beach. Arms spread wide and eyes screwed shut. He could feel the sand get tangled in his thick, curly hair but he didn't exactly care about that right now. His mind was focused on other things.

Or rather, was attempting to keep his mind _off_ said _other things._

So thinking about sand might have actually helped his state of mind.

"I wonder how many buckets I'd need to pick up every grain of sand on this beach… probably a lot…"

He dug his fingers into the rough sand and let it fall between his them.

"Like… a _lot…_ It'd be cool though, but then I'd just have a bunch of sand filled buckets... I can't use those to protect everyone…"

He suddenly groaned as his mind snapped back to the subject he was trying fruitlessly to avoid.

"So… we have a… very large beach, and a standard bucket holds approximately a… bucket-load of sand… so… if I multiply that by…"

"What the heck are you babbling on about, Steve-O?"

Amethyst's voice was both a blessing and a complete shock. The vertically challenged Gem loomed over him, which, in hindsight was a little amusing. Amethyst had never been the one to _loom_ over someone for obvious reasons.

"I guess I'm just trying to distract myself…"

"By rambling about buckets of sand? Dude, that's a little weird…"

Steven could only shrug in response. Amethyst never was good with mushy stuff. Her tactfulness, or lack thereof, shone through quite heavily as she attempted some level of humour. When she had apparently failed, her shoulders sagged and her gaze falling to the sand.

"I'm sorry, dude. Pearl said you ran out in a panic. She wanted to come straight out and see what was wrong… but Connie said that'd be a bad idea. So, you'll have to make do with me!"

Steven mustered a half-baked smile before pulling his knees close to his chest.

"Pearl's mad at me because she thinks I'm not taking this whole war thing seriously, and Connie's angry because I didn't want to tell her and make her worried… I am taking it seriously, Amethyst! I know it's going to be bad and dangerous… but… I… just… I don't know!"

Screwing his eyes shut, the starchild made himself as small as he could. The purple gem had next to no clue what to do. The only reason she was sent out was because, according to Connie, she was the most _human_ out of the Gems. That might have been true but that didn't mean she was in any position to offer comfort.

Nevertheless, she tried anyway.

"They both say they're sorry, dude. I understand what you're going through. What Pearl doesn't understand is that you're just trying to cope with it in your own way! As for Connie… well... that girl is worried about you, like, one hundred percent of the time."

A few seconds passed before Steven responded.

"Would it be better if my mom was here instead of me?"

"What the heck are you flappin' on about now?"

Amethyst's eyes widened in genuine shock at that statement.

"Pearl would never admit it, but I can tell she'd prefer it if my mom never had me… I stole Rose away from you all, didn't I?"

She could only stare in stunned silence. Her eyes widened as tears began forming in Steven's eyes. All she wanted to do was run away but that would have just made him one hundred times worse.

"Don't talk like that, Steven! Of course she doesn't think that! We all love you!"

"The Homeworld is coming and they're going to hurt a lot of people and there's nothing we can do to stop it! What makes it worse is that it's all because of me! If mom was here then none of this would have happened! Connie wouldn't be in danger and everyone would be happy…"

"We're gonna kick their collective butts, Little Man! None of this is your fault, you just… happen… to be… in the middle of it… and… stuff."

"... Not… helping."

The purple gem huffed in mild frustration and threw her hands above her head.

"Well, I don't know what the heck to say! You know I'm no good with this stuff… all I can say is that whatever _this_ is, it ain't your fault!"

Steven looked up at her with blurry, tearful eyes. Snot dribbled from his nose and hitched breaths escaped his lungs.

"How could it _not_ be?"

Thinking for a second, Amethyst honestly couldn't think of a single thing to say that would have helped. So, she opted for brutal honesty instead.

"Well… sooner or later those Gem-Wads would have shown up anyway! From what Garnet and Pearl told me, this Diamond Whozawhatzit ain't no joke… I really doubt this is _your_ fault…"

"Why can't Homeworld just see how _good_ this planet is? Why can't they just… stop?"

Steven was on the verge of, if not in the middle of, a complete breakdown. His tears were near enough pouring from his eyes and his breathing was getting alarmingly heavy. Amethyst was just making things worse and she hated it. Her purple fists clenched and her own eyes began to tear up.

"Because Homeworld doesn't care about anything other than itself! I hate them for what they do… and the fact that I'm a product of it just makes my gem ache! I feel the same way you do, Steven… this place is all I've ever known and knowing this invasion's coming just makes me want to punch the Diamonds in each of their faces!"

The Half-Gem's tears began to slow down and after a good wipe of his face using his forearm he managed to force a single grunt of agreement. Steven never thought ill of anyone. Not even Jasper or Peridot, but Homeworld had stepped over a line they shouldn't have.

"You're right! If they want a fight… a fight they'll get! No one threatens _my_ planet and gets away with it!"

Scrambling to his feet, his face scrunched into a frown consisting of both anger and determination. Cracking his knuckles he stared the purple gem in the face. Amethyst wiped her own face and the hints of a grin tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"That's the damn spirit, dude! We're gonna tear them a new one and then some!"

"About this _face punching_ idea of yours…"

* * *

"How, exactly, are you feeling, Azurite? It has been a while since your regeneration."

Onyx's voice dragged the exhausted gem from her thoughts. She had been thinking of a whole range of subjects, but the first and foremost subject needed to be addressed. Even if it was only to serve as a relief for her burning curiosity.

"What is this sedative you used on me? How does it work? Do you use it often? How did you know it would work?"

Onyx let escape a sound of amusement. Making a note on a holo-pad, he approached the side of the bed still dressed in his doctor-like garb.

"It seems you are regaining your strength nicely. It is simple really, Gems are not the only silicon-based lifeforms in this galaxy. Species such as the Petrosapiens do not posses Gem level regeneration, as a result, they have developed substantially effective medication appropriate for any and all silicon-based life. In fact, the Petrosapiens have cornered the market when it comes to Silicon Healthcare."

Azurite had limited knowledge when it came to species other than Gems but she had vaguely heard of the Petrosapiens during her time on the Homeworld.

"Gem Healthcare has never been anything more than sub-par. It is almost non-existent. This comes from our species-wide over reliance on our regenerative capabilities and immunity to organic disease, but Gems can still contract illness. Mineral Deficiency and Gem Corruption are two very serious threats, but unfortunately, due to the Authority's idea of _perfection_… Gems with any sort of illness are usually _disposed of."_

Onyx continued explaining. Azurite might not have understood everything he was saying but she listened nonetheless. The black gem's tone darkened as he touched on the Authority's approach to illness.

Without even having to focus, the azure gem could feel a deep hatred residing within Onyx. His general demeanour was as stoic as ever, but Azurite could see beyond his exterior.

"So… where do the Petrosapiens come into it if the Authority disposes of any sick Gem?"

"Simply put, Interplanetary Black Markets. If a Gem contracts an illness, they can turn to illegal dealings, Petrosapiens being one of the more popular sellers. These dealings usually involve the exchange of rare materials for medication. Unfortunately, it is very heavily policed... honestly it is like the Authority _enjoys_ slaughtering innocent civilians…"

The conversation ground to a halt at that last sentence. For a while Azurite didn't say anything in response.

"But I digress, I would like to start you on a course of Antidepressants. They are not anything too extensive, it is a simple case of bringing your condition to a controllable level. Once they begin to take effect, we can start on your therapy sessions."

"How long would that take?"

"Roughly around two to three Earth days. However, in the meantime, feel free to make my ship your home for as long as you feel necessary. If you have any questions about anything and I am not present, Eya, my ship AI, will be able to provide you with the necessary information, just… try to excuse her… _eccentricities_."

As Onyx explained he began searching the wall of medication, unconsciously slipping into a self contained ramble. Azurite could only take the fact that she couldn't quite hear him as a small blessing, what with the constant shaking of his head and tapping of his foot.

Eventually, after what felt like forever, the armoured gem turned to face Azurite once again. She still wasn't quite used to the red glowing lights that passed for eyes, she found them unsettling. Bringing her focus back to the current situation, she noticed a small metallic device in his hand.

"I would like you to take one tablet every twelve Earth hours. It is nothing too strenuous… but you may feel some discomfort in your gem for roughly two to three days. This is normal, it is your physiology getting used to the foreign agents being introduced. If anything abnormal _does_ happen, I want you to inform me immediately."

The azure gem nodded, taking the device from him. It was a dispenser no bigger than the palm of her hand.

She had to admit that the concept of having to take medication was a little weird for her. Although Onyx had explained Gems weren't exactly immune to everything, she still couldn't quite wrap her head around it.

"What should I look out for?"

"Skin discolouration, mainly. That can be a sign that your gem is rejecting the foreign agents completely, it is also a sign of oxidation. If that is the case I will have to investigate another medication for you."

Azurite scrunched her nose up at that. She didn't even know Gems _could_ oxidate. That was something she definitely wanted to avoid.

"Thank you… for helping me, Onyx. It means a lot…"

"You are welcome, but you need not thank me. I am doing what I feel is the correct course of action."

She then grew quiet for a short while. Beginning to fiddle with the dispenser in her hands she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came. So, for now, she simply sat on the bed and attempted to pluck up the courage to speak.

"Do you think… it's possible if… I could-"

"Talk to Pearl? Do you think that is the best course of action in your current state of mind?"

Onyx abruptly cut her off, finishing her question. His tone was apprehensive and dripping with animosity which Azurite couldn't quite discern why.

"I just want to see her and… talk to her… please, Onyx?"

She put every ounce of sincerity she had into that last pleading question. For a long moment, Onyx didn't speak. His head began to loll from side to side as he remained silent. Eventually, however, he let escape a sigh of defeat.

"That is… acceptable, under the condition that I supervise."

With that reply came a warm smile tugging at the edges of Azurite's lips.

"If that's the only way, I accept your condition!"


	6. Chapter 6: Heaven's Prelude

**A/N:**

**Special thanks to my Co-Author Sir Taynvictory. He's an awesome author who you should definitely check out.**

* * *

Something definitely did _not_ add up.

That was the only thought that had any sort of substance in Tourmaline's mind. Everything else seemed to wash away the second it cropped up. She was unable to focus on anything and the more she tried _not_ to think about it, the more distracted she became.

She had even completely forgot she wasn't alone in her quarters.

The Pearl stood, back straight, chest puffed outwards and fingers interlocking behind her back. Her expression was completely void of any emotion giving her a calm demeanor. It was almost as if she wasn't a Gem at all, rather a ceramic doll.

When Tourmaline had been assigned the Morganite, she didn't expect it to come with her very own Pearl. Then again, most high ranking officials had them, and she was technically amongst that social standing now. Even if it was only temporary.

This particular Pearl had a very elegant presence. Her pastel blonde hair was braided and tied into a bun complimented by deep golden eyes.

Typical of any Pearl, her body was a slender display of grace, tan coloured ribbons flowed from her waist and neck and the sunset golden gem lay rested on her forehead identical to her sister Pearls. Her look as a whole simply added to her doll-like exterior.

Although Pearl's were usually completely subservient, this one seemed to have gotten fed up with simply standing around awaiting orders that she knew weren't coming. Her emotionless features even began betraying her irritation.

"Is that everything, Captain?"

The Pearl's calm voice wrenched Tourmaline from her distraction. Part of her was grateful but the other was irritated her servant had spoken out of turn. No matter, she dismissed the Pearl and made a mental note of lecturing her later.

For now, however, it seemed she needed to make preparations for the soon to arrive invasion fleet.

That meant she needed to complete a final report and then prep her own fleet to depart back to Homeworld.

In hindsight, it had been a pretty successful assignment. Not a single problem had come up and her return home was bound to end in a commodation for a job well done. Pretty good for her first assignment as a Captain.

Or at least that's what she thought.

A white flashing light on her computer caught her attention. It was an incoming transmission. Under the assumption that it was just a routine update from one of her fellow ships, she almost jumped out of her seat when the screen showed something she never expected.

"A-Admiral Agate!"

She stuttered. Agate's expression could only be described as bored. Her silver stare gave Tourmaline the chills even through the holographic screen. Brushing snow white hair from her face she simply grunted in mild irritation.

"I'm very well aware of my rank and name, thank you."

"R-right! Forgive me."

Agate didn't even outwardly react to her statements.

"I have no time for this pointless jabbering. I'm contacting you to remind you that we will be arriving in the Sol System within the next forty eight hours. I _trust_ that there hasn't been any problems."

"No, Admiral! Everything has gone according to plan… I think."

"You… _think?"_

The accusing tone in Agate's voice was barely audible. Yet it was, and the tiny inflection in her tone may have well as been a slap in the face.

Typical of superior gems, Agate seemed to have decided to dig into Tourmaline simply because she had the nerve to lose control of her tongue. A fact that caused the watermelon gem quite a lot of internal irritation.

"Uncertainty is what causes failure. I demand you check your files thoroughly, then recheck. That is an _order_ you incompetent excuse for a Captain."

"Y-yes, Admiral… is there anything else?"

"I should have you Court Martialed for your carelessness. Second rate Captains will be the death of this military."

That was a dismissal if she ever did hear one, and a second later the coms deactivated with a flash.

Completely uncaring that she was being watched, she sank into her chair. Gods, did dealing with the higher ups drain her. What gave Agate the right to talk to her as if she was nothing but a Pearl?

The fact that Admiral outranked Captain quite considerably, most likely. Even then that was no excuse to treat her like a second rate Gem. Attempting to shake her anger off she called her Pearl back into her quarters.

She needed something done, if only to take her mind off of what just happened.

"What are your orders, Captain?"

"_Princess_ Agate wants us to check our files. It'll probably be best if we just do as she wants."

The Pearl nodded and with elegance befitting of the highest grade of Pearls, she made her way to a terminal on the far side of the room. Immediately, her fingers began tapping away on the keys, her eyes flicking from side to side.

Conversation died and only the sound of clacking of keys and impatient tapping rang through the peach hued room.

This went on for a good ten minutes until finally the Pearl turned from the terminal.

"No problems to report, Captain. Everything is in order."

* * *

"Are you going to force me to ask you what is wrong or are you just going to pace around my lab for the next forty two hours?"

An oversized, muscular, green coloured Gem mumbled, eliciting an enraged growl from a pacing Agate. Metal clad hands poked and prodded at what appeared to be a ruby, with unconventionally large utensils.

It was rare for the normally stoic Princess to stomp around in a fit, something that amused him to no end. Granted, that was the _sole_ reason he let her do so in his labs. Anyone else would find themselves as test subjects if they did so.

"Please explain to me, Olivine, why the Authority deems it necessary to use the Verneuil? This is a simple case of capture or kill, is it not? I highly doubt that these _Crystal Gems_ are this much of a threat…"

The now identified Olivine could only grunt at that complaint. His eyes not once looking up from his work.

"You are the one that usually lectures everyone else on the importance of not underestimating your enemy. A little hypocritical… do you not think? Besides, your orders are far different to my own."

Agate halted her pacing, raising an eyebrow.

"Define _different…"_

"Simple, you are to take your unit and capture or kill the Gem-Human Hybrid along with his allies. I have been tasked with something of far greater importance."

The silver Gem's expression shifted back into one of stoic apathy, even if she growled and her voice carried her irritation. Olivine could only give a single grunt of amusement at his colleague's annoyance.

"The Authority has authorised the use of my Verneuil to subjugate the _Cluster._"

She crossed her arms, the barest form of a frown appearing on her features.

"You say that as if I should know what this _Cluster_ is."

"It is a Gem super weapon. It's basic concept was to recycle the shards of shattered Gems and synthetically fuse them together to form one entity. The result was the Cluster, an entity of such magnitude that the simple act of waking up would cause catastrophic damage to the surface of any planet it is awoken on."

Taking a few seconds to finish up whatever he was doing, he rested his tools on a metallic tray and gazed upwards at his colleague.

"I, personally, think it was a pointless waste of resources. The science behind it is archaic at best. It is also highly inefficient, for it to have even gotten to where it is now, millions of Gems had to die. That is why I began work on the Verneuil Project. A fast, easy to replicate method of creating synthetic Gems."

As he explained, he began clamping large modules onto his already large Limb Enhancer Gauntlets. Agate huffed, it being the only indicator that she was annoyed.

"And I was not informed of this... why?"

"It doesn't concern you. This is a Research and Development matter."

"And what do you intend to do with this _Cluster?"_

Olivine grew silent at the question. Standing up from his seat, he tapped on the ruby, causing it to faintly glow. With a disappointed grunt, he tapped it once more causing the glow to stop.

The entrance to the lab shot open, and he idly noted that the temperature of the room raised ever-so-slightly.

"**We intend to destroy it.**"

A voice belonging to neither Agate nor Olivine spoke up causing their respective attentions to shift to where the voice had resonated from. At the doorway to the lab stood an imposing behemoth of a figure. Golden armour decorated with intricate patterns and spikes clad its form. Two crimson glowing eyes burnt through the two Gems from beneath a crowned helmet.

The chest piece, like the rest of the armour was bulky and heavily decorated. In the centre of which rested a large, gleaming golden gem. The resulting presence was a mixture of both beauty and absolute destruction incarnate.

Olivine was thankful his eyes were hidden behind his glasses, he would not have been able to hide the glance he took at Agate otherwise.

The look of sheer panic that crossed the silver Gem's face would have made him laugh aloud if the threat of incineration wasn't as present as it was.

"We're… going to destroy it, Sunstone?"

The armoured figure's gaze shifted to pierce through Agate's very existence. A grunt escaped from the golden being, instilling the most primal of fear into her mind.

"**Hmph. If you're going to be like that… then **_**I'm**_ **going to destroy it.**"

"But… why destroy it when we could use it?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Sunstone's entire presence began to glow a burning yellow. The heat in the room suddenly skyrocketed and Agate began to feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

Almost detachedly, she noted that the edges of her mantle were beginning to singe.

"**The very fact that this thing exists in the first instance is an insult to our race. A Blight. An **_**abomination**_**. What's the point in building a weapon if it requires the death of millions of our **_**own**_ **people? The whole point behind weapons development is to **_**decrease**_ **friendly casualties, not make it a necessity.**"

Agate could only fall silent at the counter-argument. Partially because she _couldn't_ argue but also partially because she was currently rooted to the ground in fear. Sunstone's piercing gaze raked to Olivine.

How could he just _shrug_ in indifference?

"You know my opinion on the matter…"

Olivine then just turned back towards his work, even as the aura Sunstone emitted faded away.

"**Problems with the Verneuil?**"

"Only this one. Unfortunately it's a write off."

Taking a large mallet, the scientist raised it above his head and brought it down on the ruby causing it to shatter into thousands of shards. An almost sorrowful expression flashed over his face for the briefest of moments.

"It is… a shame."

Sunstone nodded, even as he left the labs.

"**Indeed.**"

* * *

"The Mayor will… uh… see you now…"

The voice of the secretary jolted Onyx back to reality. A brief, polite nod was given to the confused woman and he rose from his seat. Next to him was the last person he wished to be alone with.

Pearl.

Her posture suggested she was worried but her expression suggested she was irritated. At what, Onyx had no clue, and didn't really care enough to ask. He was more focused on what he was about to demand of the supposed leader of this city.

Inside the large office was, in Onyx's perspective, pretty sub-standard. He had expected something a little more substantial for someone of such an apparently high rank.

Then again, some of the… things he had met in positions of 'power' ruled from absolute pig-stys.

Mayor Dewey, who sat in his large leather chair behind a solid wooden desk suddenly gasped in surprise when he spotted Onyx's companion. He even went as far as to apply breath spray before standing up and smiling.

_Really_? So this was why Amethyst urged Pearl to go with him. He supposed this would make his demands somewhat easier to get across.

"Oh, um… hello, Mister… Onyx was it?"

"Indeed, Mayor Dewey. I believe you are already acquainted with my associate?"

The mayor nodded, eliciting a grunt of satisfaction from the armoured gem. Sitting down in the two chairs opposite Dewey he got straight to the point.

"I am here, today, to demand you evacuate the city as soon as humanly possible."

Brutal Honesty was often the quickest way to getting what you wanted.

Onyx's blunt statement earned him an odd surprised gurgle. Dewey's eyebrows raised and large beads of sweat formed on the Mayor's forehead.

"What are you talking about? You can't just _demand_ a city-wide evacuation!"

"Under the circumstances, I think I can. Within the next forty eight hours a fleet will arrive from the Gem Homeworld and they _will_ destroy the city, that much is unavoidable. What _is_ avoidable, however, is the deaths of hundreds of innocent lives."

The Mayor seemed to collapse in on himself.

"Mister Onyx, you don't understand. Issuing another evacuation order when it's only been a few weeks since the last crisis… it's just going to cause mass hysteria! I just can't allow the public to panic like that!"

Last crisis? Hmm. It looked like he had something else to ask the Crystal Gems about in the future.

"But you will allow them to die at the hands of merciless _soldiers_ who have no regard for human life?"

Dewey seemed to almost physically meld with his seat. A quick glance towards Pearl revealed that the Gem was off in a world of her own.

He turned back towards the Mayor, who was wheezing where he sat if he had run a marathon.

"I obviously wouldn't want that to happen, but… I ju - I just can't willingly cause a panic out of the blue! Besides, how do I even know you're telling the truth? I don't know yo-

"He is…"

Pearl spoke in a quiet tone. Both the male's attentions shifted towards the slender gem. Her fingers were interlocked and she averted her eyes from the two.

"He's telling the truth. The Homeworld has declared war and… they're going to _destroy_ Beach City - and then the entire world!"

"_Unless_ we stop them. As the case may be, we need to evacuate or hundreds of people _will_ die. The only thing that is stopping us is _your_ hesitation, Mayor. Do you want the blood of your constituents on your hands?"

The brief feeling of sympathy echoed throughout his Gem. The Mayor was, no doubt, having a relatively normal day until two extraterrestrial beings barged into his office to demand an evacuation of the city because of an incoming alien invasion.

That would stagger even the most levelheaded of leaders.

"You… Youre right… of course you are. If what you say is true, staying put is certain death. What good is keeping the peace if in doing so I'm dooming the people I swore to protect?"

The Mayor mumbled to himself for a couple of seconds,

"I'll… I'll send out the evacuation order for tomorrow!"

"The Crystal Gem's and I will be present to help with the proceedings and quell any potential trouble. My word no doubt means little at this moment, but you have it regardless."

Not even looking up from his desk, the quivering Mayor could only nod.

"I'll need to make a few phone calls… pull a few strings… probably get kicked out of office… why does all the weird stuff happen when _I'm _in office?"

"A man may not be remembered for his job, but he _will_ be remembered for his actions,"

It may not exactly be what the Mayor wished to hear, but a little motivation could go a long way.

"Your actions are saving the lives of hundreds of people, Mayor Dewey. You may not get re-elected, but it will be known that you are _saving_ lives."

It was minute, but he could see the Mayor set his jaw, and when he looked up, there was determination in the man's eyes.

_Well what do you know?_ It looked like he still had a way with words after all...

* * *

"What do you mean _evacuate?"_

"What's happening now?"

"Is this like what happened a few weeks ago?"

"Why won't you tell us what's going to happen?"

Onyx let a sigh escape. The swarm of questions was beginning to irritate him, not that he betrayed his irritation externally, after all, he did understand these people were just anxious and confused.

"Citizens of Beach City, if you would be so kind as to calm down, I will be happy to provide answers to some of your questions…"

Unfortunately it seemed his request fell on deaf ears. The crowd were just too worked up to even attempt to calm down. It was like the very concept of an evacuation only served to irritate the citizens of this city.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he spied Steven's expression tightening into a strained grimace. The boy's fists clenched and his whole body began to shake.

"Guys! Please!"

His voice erupted in a mixture of desperation and assertiveness. What was more, it actually seemed to work. The crowd began quieting down to the immediate relief of the poor boy. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward.

"Something _really_ bad is on its way here. Something that's going to do a lot of bad stuff… if we don't evacuate quickly and safely… the bad stuff is just going to get a lot worse than it should be! Please, take everything you need and get as far away from Beach City as you possibly can!"

The desperation in the young boy's voice was thick and everyone in the crowd clearly picked up on it. A ripple of murmuring washed over the crowd and with each passing second the anxiety and tension rose.

"W-what's coming… Steven?"

A quiet voice from the crowd spoke up.

"An army from the Gem Homeworld…"

As soon as he finished, a round of stunned gasps erupted from the crowd. It seemed the gravity of the situation had finally become apparent. Silence fell over the crowd and the tension in the air was almost a corporeal thing.

The Mayor had stood up next to the boy, and the determination in the man's eyes were valiantly fighting his fear and nervousness.

"Now, now my fellow Beach City Citizens, this is why we need to band together! Arrangements with Charm City for temporary accommodation have already been made. I want, like Mr. Universe has already said, everyone to go home, collect your belongings and drive _safely _away from Beach City."

Not even a second passed before the crowd began dispersing calmly. Or rather, completely and utterly terrified for what was to come. Each expression was the same: blank and tense.

At least they weren't panicking.

Taking this as the Crystal Gem's own cue to disperse, they made way for Greg's car wash. Nothing but the agonisingly tense silence accompanying the five of them. Even Onyx was showing signs of the situation's pressure.

Most namely, the constant mumbling of numbers and names, accompanied by hand gestures and the occasional shaking of his head. Steven, in a bid to take his mind off of the encroaching threat, attempted to figure out just what the armoured gem was doing.

After a few minutes of thought, the Half-Gem had come to the conclusion that he was just doing the same: trying to keep his mind off of everything and at the same time keep his mind on everything.

But that only elicited a rather large question.

"Onyx… why exactly are you staying with us? You don't really have a reason too, right?"

Stopping his self contained mumbling, he raised his head to look at the child. He shrugged before answering.

"It is as I have said before, my reasons are my own… but I shall divulge your curiosity just this once. As you may have guessed: I have… quite a disliking for the Authority. A disliking developed through experience…"

Taking a quick pause, Onyx removed the high-visibility jacket… that was worn… over his trench coat.

That was something else to ask Onyx later.

"The truth is, I am actually trapped on this planet now that I am here. I merely came to deliver the intelligence on the invasion… however, I soon realised that I no longer have the option of leaving. Not without being caught by the Authority… and let us just say the Authority does not take kindly to fugitives…"

"You acted without thinking, and now the big guns are pointing at you too."

Garnet spoke almost as if she was saying it to herself. After a brief moment of silence, Onyx broke it with an amused grunt.

"That is indeed one way of putting it, only these _big guns_ do not know that they are pointing at me. 'Caught in the crossfire' I believe the human saying is. That is why I am staying put and shall help you in the effort to push back the Authority."

"In other words, he would have no qualms in abandoning us…"

Pearl's sentence earned her a crimson glare.

"I understand you have abandonment issues, but if the opportunity had arose to allow me to leave, I would have done so with guilt weighing on my conscience… but what is one more notch on an already fractured soul?"

That reply definitely was not expected. Even Garnet looked shocked with her jaw slightly slackened.

"Ah… excuse me, that was of a... somewhat personal nature, I apologize…"

Once more, tense silence consumed the group. After a few minutes of walking, they eventually reached Greg's car wash overlooking the ocean. Greg himself had already made a lot of progress with packing.

That said, he _did_ sleep in his van.

His near panicked expression earned a quiet groan from his son, knocking the ex-musician out of his frenzied running about.

"Steven! Thank god you're here! I've finished packing up your stuff and w-"

"I'm… not going with you, Dad…"

Steven's abrupt interruption caught Greg off guard. What came next was a gargled and panicked squeal.

"What do you mean? I'm not letting you run around in the middle of a Gem warzone!"

"Mr. Universe, I understand your concerns… but you must understand something: One of the Authority's priorities is either the capture or elimination of your son. Allowing him to go with you and the other citizens will result in the evacuation being completely redundant."

Onyx attempted to sound disarming and comforting but what he was saying only managed to make Greg worse.

"Wouldn't he be safer in Charm City? There's a heck of a lot more security there!"

"_Human_ security. Besides, putting Steven in the company of other humans will result in a body count. The whole idea of this evacuation is to _avoid_ that."

"Dad, it's ok, we're the Crystal Gems! We're going to kick the Authority's butt!"

Although the Half-Gem sounded upbeat, his body language betrayed his anxiety. Greg could only look between the three other gems in hopes of support. Sadly, there was none to be given. Or at least not directly.

"I'm so sorry Greg, but it's the only way to make sure no human gets hurt."

Pearl was the first to speak, lightly touching his shoulder. An attempt at a warm smile made its way onto her expression, an attempt that was failing quite spectacularly.

"We want Steven to go with you just as much as you do… but it's as Pearl and Onyx says, we need to consider the larger picture."

Garnet's calm tone seemed to be the only thing that had some positive effect on the panicking father. Taking measures to slow his breathing and calming himself down, Greg conceded defeat. Tears began welling up in his eyes, a large hand finding its way onto his son's shoulder.

"If anything happens to him… I'll _never_ forgive you… _any_ of you!"

With that, he pulled Steven in for a long hug. The poor boy didn't have a clue what to do. His own eyes tearing up just as much as his father's.

"You be careful, Stoo-Ball… You have your Mom's shield… make sure you stay safe, ok?"

"Of course, Dad, I promise… I have her sword too, y'know!"

After what felt like an eternity, Greg finally broke away from his child, got into his van and reluctantly began to drive away. The next few hours were spent simply watching the tides of the ocean washing back and forth.

Eventually, the sun began setting. By now, the city was more akin to a ghost town. The streets were deserted and not a single shop or restaurant had its door open to the public. It was almost peaceful. Like it was night time.

All that was left to do was simply wait for the storm to hit.

And that storm would soon be upon them.

The invasion was not far off now.


End file.
